Paul King & the Rhythm Society
Backed by the solid, horn-heavy sounds of the swingin’ Rhythm Society, handsome front man Paul King belts out the tunes in vintage suave style. In an instant, you’ll be transported into the dance halls of the ’30s and ’40s, where a baggy-suited cat grabs the hand of the nearest full-skirted honey and the dance-floor crowd…
Stella’s not alone
I can’t think of too many other bands with a name that better describes the type of sound the members are stretching for than the Brothers Groove. An extremely talented Detroit threesome, these musicians are about as tight and locked into each other as it’s possible to be without drawing stares. The groove is the…
Harmonious hybrid
The dhol, the tumbi, the alagozi — a sneaky trio to be sure. You see, each of these Indian folk instruments is partially responsible for one of the most infectious musical hybrid smuggling efforts ever undertaken — bhangra. Born in the rural North Indian region of Punjab, it was exported most directly to England via…
Trekking under the ozone hole
An honest travelogue from the Torres del Paine and the End of the World….
Free Will Astrology
ARIES (March 21-April 19): Snow rarely falls where I live, north of San Francisco Bay, but on winter nights the temperatures often gets down to freezing. Yet that doesn’t stop renegade roses from popping out in January and February. Today, a single, huge, yellow goddess-yoni of a blossom is exploding from a high stem in…
Space cowboys
Slumber Party, American Mars and other Detroit bands are rediscovering their Midwest roots, blending a little bit of country into space-rock transcendence.
Delicately stuffed squid
Our reviewer, Elissa Karg, was impressed that the waitstaff at Hong Hua writes orders in Chinese characters. You can’t get much more authentic than that. “Fine Chinese Dining” reads the menu, and in many respects, that promise is fulfilled. The well-spaced tables are covered with white linen and set with white china. If you like…
Masterful retelling
Aficionados of Harry Smith’s Anthology of American Folk Music, take note. O Brother, Where Art Thou?, the sound track to the Coen Brothers’ cinematic retelling of The Odyssey as a Depression-era convict caper, provokes the same sense of musical discovery as your first time hearing those initial volumes of folk masterpieces. While Smith’s 1952 collection…
No big noise
Pavement, Sebadoh and Dinosaur Jr. each laid large tiles contributing to the (under)groundwork of that gloriously lo-fi independent, slacker, noise-guitar rock sound that ruled the ’90s sedimentary layer of popularity. But now in our DSL culture where we already look back on the decade that ended just more than a year ago with nostalgia and…
Madadayo
Akira Kurosawa’s 30th and final film, made in 1992 when the director was 82 and only just released in the United States last year, centers around a retiring professor and his worshipful group of former students — a faltering swan song, but one with enough quiet grace to honor its director.
Gilded Lily
Director Terence Davies’ adaptation of Edith Wharton’s bleak novel (set in New York in the early 1900s) follows the downward trajectory of a young woman (Gillian Anderson) whose independence of mind balks at the idea of settling down — with Eric Stoltz, Anthony LaPaglia and Dan Ackroyd.
Save the Last Dance
Is blood thicker than blondes? Director Thomas Carter knows how to shoot dance and shines when he lets his camera do most of the talking. But its unflinching confrontation of race and women’s issues is what saves Save the Last Dance.
Malena
The new film from Italian director Giuseppe Tornatore (Cinema Paradiso) fairly glows with nostalgia for a lost Sicily. But nearly every character is a stereotype or tired cliché, the exceptions being a gallant boy and the vessel of his desire, the beautiful widow Malèna (Monica Bellucci).
Escanaba in da Moonlight
Jeff Daniels’ loving parody of the habits of the Yooper offers us a comic window into the land of wild game and pasties. But it has a made-for-TV look and moments of toilet humor and political incorrectness concerning the Ojibwa Nation. Daniels may shoot straight, but he could aim higher.
Stay special
Before leaving for Europe, I scoured local bookstores hoping to find a book called Special Places to Stay in Italy. On a previous trip, the Ireland edition had proven to be outstanding in listing special accommodations, from bed & breakfasts, to farmhouses, to castles. When no such title turned up, I contacted the publisher (in…
Sick and tired
Concerns about arsenic-laced soil at local school site….
Make the trip
Contemporary pilgrimages are voyages of self-discovery….
Inconspicuous tourism
When in Italy, do as the Italians do — as best you can….
Electronic utopia
Tokyo’s retail technology district has more than 200 future-shops….
Of hurts and hugs
Q: I am a 28-year-old bisexual female who has been seeing a 41-year-old woman for six months. Things are really confusing to me. She says she doesn’t want a relationship, yet she doesn’t want me to see other people and she’s not seeing anyone else. I think she would like to be sleeping around but…
Raising the bar
ACLU and Triangle Foundation lawyers are justifiably honored….
Letters to the Editor
Bush’s intrigue I wanted to let you know how appreciative I am of Jack Lessenberry’s recent column ("Baby Bush and the ACLU," MT, Jan. 24-30). I have to admit that I voted for Bush and was hopeful about this new administration until I started noticing what everyone else was talking about. Then I was invited…
Living it up
Ferndale passes living wage ordinance; will it last?
Sleazy judges vs. the sex police
Jesse Jackson has become the latest victim of the sex police — but real corruption is a fact of life among Michigan’s own judiciary. What can be done about it?
Natural electronics
Explaining the definition of techno … What’s Detroit’s thing with the 80s … & even more techno talk.
Creating a cool club
Kudos to the new management at the Royal Oak Theatre, for some creative local booking (it looks as if it’s popular with the scenesters) … Is Robert Bradley’s Blackwater Surprise kaput? … & Real Detroit forced to ‘fess up to Jerry Peterson.
Strange bedfellows
Wait a minute: Debbie Stabenow now endorses Spence Abraham?
Offbeat, popular, hip and historic
A selection of pilgrimage sites….
Doing time
We all have a million things we’re gonna do someday — a day which, fortunately, is not clearly marked on the calendar. Here’s how to tell if you’ve waited too long.
