It's not often that a new musician makes as big an impact on the music world as Norah Jones did with her 2001 debut, Come Away with Me. Although it was a cross-genre jazz album, it managed to blow audiences and the recording industry away with the kind of success that seemed to defy logic.
Actor Edmund Gwenn once said, "Dying is easy. It's comedy that's difficult." Philly-dweller B-Phlat will give Albuquerque the best of both worlds when her own special blend of brassy, urban humor has people dying of laughter. "I never know what I'm gonna do until I see the audience," B-Phlat said.
This weekend Bill Evans and his dance company saw the curtain fall for the last time. Evans, a professor of dance at UNM for 16 years, will no longer produce concerts for the Bill Evans Dance Company he formed 30 years ago. Friday and Saturday the company performed "30" at the South Broadway Cultural Center in front of a packed crowd.
by Cindy Lewis Daily Lobo There are certain elements a high school movie must have: a big house party, jocks in lettermen jackets, prom, sex and the character who doesn't quite fit in. "The Girl Next Door" delivers all of these high school clichs with yet another modernized brat pack.
Gay and straight men might have more than their share of differences, but at the end of the day they are still just men. That is what the creators of "Straight Plan for the Gay Man," a new show on Comedy Central, hope to prove with their parody of the cult hit "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.
There's something about really good punk music that makes you realize how much mundane day-to-day crap really doesn't matter all that much. It's a sense of not really caring about other peoples' opinions, but there's more to it than that. Good punk music can open your eyes and relax your mind and do it all while blasting 4/4 backbeats, choppy guitars and vocals that would make Simon from American Idol hide under his piles of cash crying for a warm bottle.
Amy Fortoul investigates the taboos surrounding the female appetite for sex and food in her one-woman show "This is My Body." Even that description is a bit tame though, and Fortoul said she links intensely personal topics like shameful sexual experiences, body hatred and eating disorders in an autobiographical performance.
Three and a half stars If you haven't heard of Hot Water Music, you're not alone. Despite releasing seven albums over 10 years, touring the United States, Europe and Australia, the band just hasn't reached many people in the Albuquerque area. But the members plan to change all that when they play the Sunshine Theatre tonight with the Bouncing Souls.
Some inner-city people see folk music as the unwanted bastard child of blues. ThaMuseMeant is not to be dismissed so easily. "At present we are calling ourselves a string band, a sassy string band - tattooed folk," said mandolin player David Tiller. The band split up after touring together nonstop for seven years.
If imitation is the highest form of flattery, the Grateful Dead shouldn't have any self-esteem issues. Dark Star Orchestra, one of many Deadhead tribute bands, goes past imitation. The only things the members are missing are wigs and tie-dyed costumes. Their first live album, Thunder and Lightnin,' consists of nine tracks, each with a playtime from anywhere between two to 14 minutes.
In honor of National Black History Month, the Center for African American Student Services and the Black Student Union have organized a month full of events that they hope will build a sense of community. Although February is almost gone, the events are still coming strong.
by Cindy Lewis Daily Lobo Some think hip-hop culture has been given a bad rap. Cyrus Gould and his crew, Ultra High Frequency, along with United Students Against Sweatshops, plan to disprove that negative reputation with the second annual Breaking Hearts Hip-Hop Jam tomorrow in the SUB Ballroom.
Valentine's Day is heating up the warm fuzzies again this year - dragging with them a case of cynicism and traumatic memories for some UNM students. "Valentine's Day seems like a good break up day for girls," Raynor Lynn said. "Girls like to break up on Valentine's Day.
After a three-year tour, "Alexander Rodchenko: Modern Photography, Photomontage and Film" is making its last stop in the place that got the show started, UNM Art Museum. Rodchenko was the first photographer of his time to play with scale and type face - essentially breaking up the idea of what a photography was.
For those with special someones who prefer Mozart to spaghetti and meatballs or are just tired of the traditional dinner and a movie, Las Cantantes, the UNM women's choir will be performing a special Valentine's Day concert. The concert will feature several pieces by Libby Larsen composed specifically for the choir.
Just in time for Valentine's Day, Teatro Nuevo MÇxico will open its production of "El Jard°n," a play that depicts the first match made in heaven, Adam and Eve. Written by Chicano scholar Carlos Morton, the play tells the classic Genesis story of the first woman and man with a 20th century spin on the tale.
by Danielle Bloch Daily Lobo Shannon Hayes questions the meaning of dreams in her art show, "An Attempt to Contain." Although Hayes is a third-year Fine Arts graduate student in printmaking, her installation at The Walls contains three different mediums of art.
Wisdom of the Leech is not the average Albuquerque band. The band's debut EP, The Death of Respect is a five-song power-bomb. Not only has the band managed to put together a respectable first EP, it has also created a sound that creeps toward the edges of clichÇ and then slaps you in the face and makes a bee line towards something unexpected.
For those who need a good laugh or a good date this Valentine's Day, "Sleep With Me!" promises these and much more. "Sleep With Me!" was written by Susan Erickson, a UNM and TVI instructor, and directed by Allison Davis, who has directed 16 previous plays at the Vortex.
The jig is up for singers everywhere. Software designers at Zero G think they have us figured out - they think they've distilled the essence of a human voice into a totally synthesized "soul" singer, according to the Web site. Vocaloid, a new program designed to simulate singers, was released by Yamaha worldwide Tuesday.
Solutions by The State News
