One Wonder Hit
Rick Springfield, still spry and kicking at 76, fired up the Chumash Casino crowd, closing with the elephant mega-earworm in the room, “Jessie’s Girl”
Author: Josef Woodard
Spring Gone Wild, Minimalist Rebirth
Samuel Adams’s captivating “almost” Piano Concerto “No Such Spring” commands a bright spotlight at Music Academy Orchestra concert.
ON the Beat | Viva la MAW and Mariachi
A perennial, and peripheral, highlight of Fiesta is the Mariachi Festival, at the Santa Barbara Bowl on Saturday; Music Academy of the West, winding down, hits the town.
Viva la Gardener, On the Officialdom Tip
Spencer the Gardener kicks out the pre-Fiesta jams at M. Special, in its annual “official unofficial kickoff” show.
Love During Wartimes, Inside and Outside
‘A Sad and Beautiful World’, Lebanon’s bid for last year’s International Feature Oscar, poetically juggles themes of love, family, childhood dreaming, and a turbulent social landscape.
Review | Sex for Art’s Sake
UCSB alum Gregg Araki’s latest film, ‘I Want Your Sex’, is a dizzy satirical mix of excesses in sex, contemporary art and power plays.
Nature Revisited, Gallery Celebrated
To celebrate its first anniversary, Seimandi & Leprieur gathers an array of work by artists gracing its walls in ‘Year One’.
ON the Beat | Big Week at the MAW, Sierra Goes Bowling
Music Academy of the West offers a dense week of highlights; beloved “bluegrass and more” star Sierra Ferrell returns, this time in the big house at the Bowl.
Review | Night at the Opera, Postmodern Puzzle Division
For its annual fully staged opera, Music Academy of the West craftily summons up sinister delight with Kevin Puts’s ‘Elizabeth Cree’.
Jazz Songbird on High, in the Right Place
Acclaimed jazz singer Roberta Gambarini helps to break in the new Grand on State jazz club as a showcase for “visiting artists” of note.
