Fashion Columbia ‘in the raw’

The eighth floor of the Ludington Building had the errant feeling of an illegal warehouse party May 8. The raw space, with an absence of any walls, carpeting or tile, was an appropriate choice for Fashion Columbia 2003, the year-end event put on by the students of the Advanced Fashion Show Production Class.
Read more...

None of that jazz in Dance Center finale

Danny Buraczeski, a 20-year dance veteran, brought his Jazzdance to Columbia as part of the 2002-2003 season finale of the Dance Center.
Read more...

Political history exposed by Vowell

Did you sob the moment George W. Bush took the oath of office of the president of the United States? Do you have an unexplainable fascination with the bloody battle of Gettysburg? Are you a sucker for Puritan New England? For all closet history buffs and politically-minded Americans, The Partly Cloudy Patriot by Sarah Vowell is a thought-provoking ride through America’s past and present, told on a grand political scale, and at the same time from a smaller, more personal point of view.
Read more...

‘Dead’ breathes life into Metro

The Austin-bred, art-punk train wreck ...And You Will Know Us by The Trail of Dead made a stop at the Metro on April 24, leaving the stage (and the drum kit) in a twisted heap of wreckage.
Read more...

Newest Olympic event goes ‘Solo’

Don’t expect any laugh tracks here. For more than 20 years, ImprovOlympic has been part of the bustling nightlife of Wrigleyville. ImprovOlympic has turned out some comic ‘greats,’ such as Chris Farley, Tina Fey, Mike Meyers, Andy Dick and Andy Richter.
Read more...

A childhood tale of war, survival and courage

When bad times strike, ordinary Americans strike back—at least historically. We built internment camps for Japanese Americans during World War II. We persecuted Arab-Americans after 9/11. America’s xenophobic recoil is hardly uncommon. In Yugoslavia, ethnic Albanians faced eradication as recently as five years ago.
Read more...

‘Sometimes’ change is good

A garage door opener is an unlikely literary device. It’s a device that wouldn’t work in over-the-top films that consistently hammer home their ideas. However, in Charlotte Sometimes, an independent film seeped in subtlety, it works just fine.
Read more...

Yeah Yeah Yeahs a no-no

Hype too early in a career can turn out to be a burden. Case in point: the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, who rolled into town for a sold-out concert, April 30 at the Metro, one day after the release of their first full-length album, Fever to Tell.
Read more...

Country music examines death penalty

If listening to a double-disk CD set full of songs about murder, death, lynching, prison and execution sounds like enough torture for a lifetime, think again. The Pine Valley Cosmonauts, creators of such an album, are a Chicago-based collaboration engineered by Jon Langford of the Waco Brothers, the Mekons and the Sadies. In the hours Langford spends not sleeping, he has gathered an A-list alternative-country roster for The Executioner’s Last Songs, Vols. 2 & 3.
Read more...

‘Love’ sweet love

It’s impressive how easily success comes to characters in films. Their rapid rise to stardom is supposed to be indicative of their charm or charisma, or in the case of the new film Down With Love, the novelty of their ideas.
Read more...

Sugar Ray sweetens Chicago crowd
Opening act outshines Matchbox Twenty

Matchbox Twenty brought their More Than You Think You Are tour, featuring special guest Sugar Ray, to the United Center on May 3.
Read more...

Poetry celebration a wheel of emotion

International, national and local poets used their diverse talents and techniques through comedy, tragedy, cultural representation, music and experimental soundscapes at the Prism of Poetry Celebration, which wrapped up National Poetry Month on April 29 at the Hokin Annex.
Read more...

Serious paperwork, promises for Taurus

Weekly Horoscope
Read more...