Category Archives: Review

Age is only helping Robyn Hitchcock settle into his role as wizened surrealist singer and mystic storyteller. More than 45 years after starting his first band, the founder of the Soft Boys who went on to fronting the Egyptians and a long, accomplished solo career is a unique troubadour — a singer who can create [...]

Mott the Hoople always seemed the kind of band that would implode at any moment, and such was the case when they pulled into New York in the middle of their 1974 U.S. tour, becoming the first rock band to play a week on Broadway. That achievement didn’t pay off for the band (any more [...]

Nick Lowe is calling his tour with Los Straightjackets the Quality Rock & Roll Revue and it’s no idle boast. The cool, memorable songs of Lowe with his smooth, elder statesman air, combined with the funhouse snarl of the twangin’ Straightjackets, in their Mexican wrestling masks and goofy stage presence, makes for pretty well-balanced entertainment. [...]

It was billed as a living room concert, and the entire Mark Eitzel tour dubbed “Living room Tsunami” so it was a little bit surprising when the secret D.C. area location, once payment was made, turned out to be an Irish bar in Wheaton, Md. It could have been another barroom show except that the [...]

Todd Snider walks on stage in goofy hat, trusty guitar, barefoot but also with his equally raggedy dog, Cowboy Jim, who promptly lies down and listens to these songs and stories one more time. “It don’t get folkier than bringing your @#%ing  dog!” Snider declares to the appreciative audience at the Birchmere Music Hall and [...]

The poet and writer Chris Desjardins created the Flesh Eaters in the heyday of L.A. punk scene of the late 1970s, enlisting many of his friends to be among the revolving roster in the band over a handful of albums. The most potent lineup was the one in 1981 that produced the band’s strongest album [...]

It was the 10th Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song, but winners Emilio and Gloria Estefan represent two firsts — the first married couple to be so honored, and the first of Latin heritage. The award comes with a presentation with a big Congressional delegation in Washington and an all-star concert at the [...]

It was an auspicious moment in Jacksons history Friday, happening in a snowy and frozen remote corner — a rural Minnesota casino, in one of just a couple of scheduled U.S. dates this year. Only two days later, a world of Michael Jackson fans would be confronted with some ugly accusations in a long, thoughtful [...]