The Wanderer: Teddy Thompson at the Lobero
English Singer-Songwriter Returns to Sing Like Hell Englishman Teddy Thompson certainly knows a thing or two about musical wandering, and
Year: 2006
It Can’t Get More Local
News from the county Ag beat.
Sex, Lies, and Frank Lloyd Wright
Roger Friedland, a UCSB professor of religious studies and sociology, just pulled off a major literary coup. He’s written a book that will not only satisfy the academic rigor of his colleagues, but will also be a sure-fire bestseller full of sex, lies, and architecture.
Supernova
FLY LIKE AN EGLE: The majestic Lithuanian-born pianist Egle Januleviciute has just released her first album. It is called Johann Sebastian Bach and contains her inimitable readings of Bach’s English Suite No. 2 in A Minor, Italian Concerto, Partita No. 2 in C Minor, and three Organ Choral Preludes (arranged by Ferruccio Busoni).
Everyone Thought I Was Smarter
Half Nelson
Ryan Fleck has adapted his award-winning shortie Gowanus, Brooklyn, about an inner-city schoolteacher addicted to crack, into a powerful, unforgettable feature. As superb as Ryan Gosling is in the lead, Shareeka Epps, as his 13-year-old student Drey, is such an amazing camera subject and magnet for our attention that whenever she is on screen, the movie is about her.
Secrets of the Beehive
The Wicker Man
Admirers of playwright-turned-film-director Neil LaBute may wonder what he was doing taking on what might appear to be a standard-fare horror/suspense number. At times, the film seems strangely labored and lame, like the work of a director out of his element.
The Sensitive Touch
GET MOROSE: Take note: When you specialize in the quietly introspective side of alternative rock, you must be able to state your sound in the cleverest of ways. S.B. threesome Clark officially describes itself as “neo-baroque.” That hyphenated wonder may not mean much to the average set of ears, but those familiar with the work of eloquently somber artists like Elliott Smith or Nick Drake will feel a familiar mellow while listening to the effortlessly resonant voice of Clark’s front man, Gabriel Friley.
Blame the Hat
WESTWARD HOME: Twenty years or so ago, a Kentuckian headed west on a musical mission, with what some considered a wayward compass. He proved ’em wrong-and still does. Dwight Yoakam loaded up his guitars and big ol’ hats in his proverbial Cadillac, dreaming of high-class hillbilly women and chasing the heart of country music as he heard it.
Lookin’ Out His Back Door
t’s tempting to create a new precept for criticism here: If the Bowl is rocking, don’t bother knocking. Unquestionably, hit-maker John Fogerty of Creedence Clearwater fame gave an amphitheater full of rockers (of a certain age) the ride they sought, fueled with nostalgia and honed to radio-version delivery time: about 20 songs in an hour and 45 minutes.
Grohl at the Bowl
The Bowl was consumed in perfection last Saturday night, every inch of it dripping with warm and welcoming intimacy. Playing their final show of a summer-long “acoustic” tour, quintessential soft-core MTV rock band the Foo Fighters set up shop in our beloved Bowl and absolutely tore the place up.