Arts & Entertainment Reviews
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Port O’Brien
At Muddy Waters Café, Wednesday, July 9.
“We have a limited amount of mikes up here, and we need ‘em to hear a few instruments, but if we’re all quiet we can kinda vibe-out,” said Port O’Brien lead singer Van Pierszalowski before jumping into a slow and harmonious song featuring soul-wrenching saw and bow, accordion, and layers of layers guitar, vocals, and banjo. Read story.
The Human Landscape
At East/West Gallery. Shows through August 1.
Not that the East/West Gallery needed to reaffirm its standing as one of the leading conveyors of classic fine art photography here in town, but its latest exhibition, The Human Landscape, effortlessly does just that. Read story.
Tell No One
François Cluzet and Kristin Scott Thomas star in a film written and directed by Guillaume Canet, based on the novel by Harlan Coben.
You’ll always have Paris? Fuhgeddaboutit. Read story.
Rumors
At SBCC Garvin Theatre, Friday, July 11.
Upstairs, Charley Brock, the deputy mayor of New York, is recovering from a minor, apparently self-inflicted bullet wound, while below, in the living room of the Brock’s elegant, old-fashioned New York mansion, four couples participate in a kind of inadvertent contest to see who can make up the most outlandish story about what happened to him. Read story.
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, and Jeffrey Tambor star in a film written and directed by Guillermo del Toro.
Guillermo del Toro may be a genius, but in real life he’s insanely funny. Read story.
Christopher Taylor, piano
At the Music Academy of the West’s Hahn Hall, Wednesday, July 9.
Christopher Taylor does not look as if he intends to save the world. Read story.
Sean Hayes and James Hunter
Sings Like Hell, at the Lobero Theatre, Saturday, July 12.
Last Saturday’s Sings Like Hell concert series showcased two highly talented, yet intriguingly varied artists whose one commonality might be an appreciation of—and deep respect for—the legacy of Sam Cooke. Read story.
Kit Kittredge: An American Girl
Abigail Breslin, Julia Ormond, and Joan Cusack star in a film written by Ann Peacock and directed by Patricia Rozema, based on stories by Valerie Tripp.
Any parent who’s been dragged to an American Girl Place by a daughter eager to shop for historical dolls and their matching clothes and furniture will appreciate the irony of a movie based on one of those characters that preaches a message of thrift and self-sufficiency. Read story.
It's All About Me: California Artists’ Self-Portraits
At the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. Shows through August 17.
The history of self-portraiture is about as old as the history of art itself, primarily because the self as subject is always available and often irresistible to the artist’s ego. Read story.
Hancock
Will Smith, Charlize Theron, and Jason Bateman star in a film written by Vincent Ngo and Vince Gilligan and directed by Peter Berg.
It’s a classic of the genre: a great idea spoiled by Hollywood. Read story.
Graffiti Photographs by Nancy Chargualaf Martin
At Antioch University. Shows through August 10.
In her poetic studies of graffiti-strewn buildings, Santa Barbara-based photographer Nancy Chargualaf Martin offers a quiet reflection on an international sign of urban rebellion. Read story.
Alison Krauss and Robert Plant
At the Santa Barbara Bowl, Wednesday, June 25.
If you’ve spent any time tracking the career of T-Bone Burnett, you’re probably not surprised at how magnificently this concert succeeded. Read story.
Encounters at the End of the World
Rayn Andrew Evans stars in a film written and directed by Werner Herzog.
Werner Herzog has us at hello with the first shot. Read story.
Snoop Dogg and 311
At the Santa Barbara Bowl, Thursday, June 26.
Considering the cross-section of rock, funk, and hip-hop that the Bowl dished out last Thursday night, one might ask, “Just what do ’90s punk-reggae rockers 311 have in common with the Doggfather of hip-hop?” Read story.
Death Cab for Cutie
At the Santa Barbara Bowl, Tuesday, June 24.
Having seen Ben Gibbard and his Washington-based cohorts play shows everywhere from Hollywood service parking lots to the main stage at Coachella, the excitement of watching Death Cab for Cutie headline the Bowl came alongside a wave of very mixed emotions. Read story.
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