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BOSTON PICKS
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Friday, November 20, 2009

Felix Kubin

Massachusetts College of Art

When he's not providing the score for dadaist cartoons or performing in space suits, Felix Kubin makes disharmonic pop/experimental noise the old-fashioned way, no computer, no ironic detachment. The folks at Non-Event have been trying to get him here for years, and tonight he's in town for his first Boston (and only second USA) show ever. So if you like your music cacophonous, perverse, and fearlessly new, don't miss. | Massachusetts College of Art, North Hall, Room 181, 621 Huntington Ave, Boston | 8 pm | $10 | http://www.nonevent.org.  

Filed under: MUSIC

Friday, November 20, 2009

Devendra Banhart

Berklee Performance Center

Hirsute, hippie weirdo (beardo?) Devendra Banhart has emerged relatively unscathed from his stint as an unlikely tabloid target (he briefly dated Natalie Portman), and now it's back to business. The freak-folk singer-songwriter has come a ways since 2007's Smokey Rolls Down Thunder Canyon: he's now touring behind his first major-label release, the polymorphously perverse What Will We Be (Warner Bros.), and tonight he plays his occasionally unhinged, astonishingly inventive new songs while putting your ironic hipster moustache to shame.| Berklee Performance Center, 136 Mass Ave, Boston | 7:30 pm | $25 | http://www.ticketmaster.com.

  Filed under: MUSIC

Friday, November 20, 2009

Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks

First Unitarian Church

A precursor of all the "hot" this-and-thats, '70s band Dan Hicks & The Hot Licks brought a cool, hipster humor to a swinging vocal style that was equal parts Bob Wills and Django Reinhardt. Hicks has been all around the block since then, but these days he's again working with the Licks, and they're at the First Unitarian Church, 3 Church Street, Cambridge | 8 pm | $32 | 978.462.9630 or http://mktix.com/heptunes.  

Filed under: MUSIC

Friday, November 20, 2009

Betty Buckley and Kenny Werner

Charles Hotel

Tonight's show is about as "unplugged" as you'll ever hear Betty Buckley. Catapulted to fame by her rendition of "Memory" as Grizabella in the original Broadway production of Cats, Buckley here performs in duo with jazz heavy-cat pianist Kenny Werner, at the Regattabar, Charles Hotel, 1 Bennett St, Cambridge | 7:30 pm [$38] + 10 pm [$35] | 617.395.7757 or http://www.regattabarjazz.com.  

Filed under: MUSIC

Friday, November 20, 2009

Metric + Band of Skulls

House of Blues

Our country was totally late for the party with Metric, who have been embraced with critical success and strong sales in their native Canada since 2003's Old World Underground, Where Are You Now? The band are now up to their fourth album, Fantasies, and their shadowy, danceable anthems are suddenly everywhere (which includes episodes of Entourage, Grey's Anatomy, and Gossip Girl). It's not hard to figure - their high-flying, synthed-out songs rock. So next time you want to make fun of our neighbors to the north (or the metric system), remember that you got scooped by a bunch of moose-riding, non-littering hockey players, eh? They're at the House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St, Boston | 7 pm | $20 | http://www.ticketmaster.com.  

Filed under: MUSIC

Friday, November 20, 2009

Trey McIntyre Project

Institute of Contemporary Art

You might have thought that a full-time company based in, yes, Boise, Idaho, and touring the country would do well to last even one year, but the Trey McIntyre Project is on its second nationwide tour, bringing dance to places that don't usually see it as well as to those (like Boston) that do, and this weekend, courtesy of World Music, it's bringing Like a Samba (set to eight songs by Astrud Gilberto), (serious) (to music by Henry Cowell), Shape (inspired by Barbie and Goldfrapp), and The Sun Road (to Blackfoot pow-wow music and songs by Paul Simon and Nina Simone) to the Institute of Contemporary Art, 100 Northern Ave, Boston | November 20 @ 7:30 pm; November 21 @ 8 pm; November 22 @ 3 pm | $40 | 617.876.4275 or http://www.worldmusic.org.  

Filed under: DANCE
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Saturday, November 21, 2009

Watson Twins + Joshua Radin

House of Blues

After a few years in Jenny Lewis's sonic shadow, the Watson Twins have stepped out and into their own. The Kentucky-born, LA-based identical twins play a particularly affecting and seductive brand of indie folk, and they've created what may be the best cover of the Cure's "Just like Heaven" yet recorded - not an easy title to claim. The two look for (and find) beauty in stillness, and with their unhurried, æthereal music and the kind of harmonies you'd expect from identical twins, they open for fellow folk crooner Joshua Radin. | House of Blues, 15 Lansdowne St, Boston | 8 pm | $20-$29 | http://www.houseofblues.com.  

Filed under: MUSIC

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Pablo Francisco

Wilbur Theatre

Pablo Francisco is probably most famous for his impersonation of the God-voiced movie-trailer guy Don LaFontaine, but his bag of characters also fits Arnold Schwarzenegger, Keanu Reeves, telenovella actors, and about a million others. Forgoing wry observation for a more energetic (if adolescent) brand of comedy, Francisco is a kinetic and gifted impressionist, and you can catch him Saturday at the Wilbur Theatre, 246 Tremont St, Boston | 7 + 9:45 pm | $20-$32 | http://www.ticketmaster.com.  

Filed under: COMEDY

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra

Emmanuel Church

As a prelude to a Sunday residency beginning next month at Johnny D's, the always provocative 19-piece Jazz Composers Alliance Orchestra plays a one-off at Emmanuel Church, with music by resident composers David Harris, Jim Hobbs, Darrell Katz, Bob Pilkington, Warren Senders, and Norm Zocher and a line-up that includes most of those folks plus singer Rebecca Shrimpton, flutist Hiro Honsuku, trumpeter Mike Peipman, saxophonist Phil Scarff, trombonist Bill Lowe, and more. That's at Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury St, Boston | 8 pm | $12 | 781.899.3130 or http://www.jazzcomposersalliance.org.  

Filed under: MUSIC

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Toulouse-Lautrec, Albrecht Dürer, and Harry Callahan at the MFA

Museum of Fine Arts

The Museum of Fine Arts is opening not one but three new exhibits today. "Café And Cabaret: Toulouse-Lautrec's Paris" is a collection of late-19th-century paintings, posters, and prints from one of the fathers of popular French lithography. "Albrecht Dürer: Virtuoso Printmaker" features the work of the pivotal Late Gothic German artist. And finally, there's "Harry Callahan: American Photographer" (no, not "Harry Callahan: Clint Eastwood Bad-Ass"), with his groundbreaking photos from the mid 20th century. Get a triple dose of culture at the MFA, 465 Huntington Ave, Boston | 10 am-4:45 pm | $20; $18 students, seniors; free for children 6 and under | 617.267.9300 or http://www.mfa.org.   Filed under: ART

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Jonathon Gates presents Generation Next

Strand Theatre

Veteran of Def Comedy Jam, self-proclaimed "Bad Boy of Boston Comedy," and founder of the Black Comedy Explosion, Jonathon Gates has kept Boston laughing for 20 years, and tonight he brings in newer blood with Generation Next, a showcase of local and national talent. Gates will host Chris Tabb, Bethany Van Delft, Terry Hodges, and Jay, with live music by DJs Wade and Ladies Choice. They all cram into the Strand Theatre, 543 Columbia Rd, Dorchester | 8 pm | $20 | http://www.strandboston.com.  

Filed under: COMEDY

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Faneuil Hall 25th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony

Faneuil Hall

Remember "good, clean fun"? We've read stories about it from the '50s, but tonight our fair city celebrates it with the Faneuil Hall 25th Annual Christmas Tree Lighting Ceremony. This holiday season's inaugural will feature caroling, bell ringers, dance troupes, live music by Jada and Ernie & the Automatics, a preview of Boston Ballet's Nutcracker, and, of course, the lighting of "the tallest Holiday tree in New England!" And a guest appearance by Santa. It's all at the East End Promenade of Faneuil Hall, Boston | 11 am-6 pm [lighting @ 5:30 pm] | free | http://www.faneuilhallboston.org.  

Filed under: CHRISTMAS

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Times New Viking + Hallelujah the Hills

Great Scott

If the name of Times New Viking is any indication (and it is), these Ohio kids boast a healthy dose of wit to go with their pretty great lo-fi garage pop. They'll arrive tonight with local heroes Hallelujah The Hills, who're fresh off their national tour, at Great Scott, 1222 Comm Ave, Allston | 9 pm | $5 | http://www.greatscottboston.com.  

Filed under: MUSIC

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Boston Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Zander, with soprano Linda Watson

Jordan Hall

We can't recall ever hearing Wagner from Benjamin Zander and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, so this weekend's attractive program is overdue: the Prelude to act one of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; the Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, with soprano Linda Watson; and Dawn, Siegfried's Rhine Journey, Siegfried's Death, Siegfried's Funeral March, and Brünnhilde's Immolation from Götterdämmerung, with Watson again. The usual three performances: Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St, Cambridge | November 19 @ 7:30 pm; November 22 @ 3 pm | Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough St, Boston | November 21 @ 8 pm | $15-$70 | 617.236.0999 or http://www.bostonphil.org.   Filed under: MUSIC
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Sunday, November 22, 2009

Festival!, with Murray Lerner

Brattle Theatre

There are moments when pop-music history takes a profound turn, and one such was at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965, when Bob Dylan plugged in an electric guitar and played with the Paul Butterfield Blues Band. Murray Lerner was there to record the moment for his classic 1967 concert documentary Festival! (which covers the event from '63 to '66), and he'll be present tonight when the film screens at the Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St, Cambridge | 7 pm | $15 | 617.876.6837 or http://www.brattlefilm.org.  

Filed under: FILM

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Boston Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Benjamin Zander, with soprano Linda Watson

Jordan Hall

We can't recall ever hearing Wagner from Benjamin Zander and the Boston Philharmonic Orchestra, so this weekend's attractive program is overdue: the Prelude to act one of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg; the Prelude and Liebestod from Tristan und Isolde, with soprano Linda Watson; and Dawn, Siegfried's Rhine Journey, Siegfried's Death, Siegfried's Funeral March, and Brünnhilde's Immolation from Götterdämmerung, with Watson again. The usual three performances: Sanders Theatre, 45 Quincy St, Cambridge | November 19 @ 7:30 pm; November 22 @ 3 pm | Jordan Hall, 30 Gainsborough St, Boston | November 21 @ 8 pm | $15-$70 | 617.236.0999 or http://www.bostonphil.org.   Filed under: MUSIC

Monday, November 23, 2009

John Buntin: L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City

Porter Square Books

The year that Oliver Wendell Holmes was describing the Massachusetts State House as "the Hub of the Solar System," Los Angeles was a ranching community with a population of less than 5000. LA's evolution from dusty pueblo to concrete behemoth provides some fascinating history, and crime journalist John Buntin has probed some of it in his L.A. Noir: The Struggle for the Soul of America's Most Seductive City. Buntin tells a cops-and-robbers story from the '30s to the '60s through the ambitions of gangster Mickey Cohen and police chief William H. Parker. (This is, in essence, the true story behind James Ellroy's L.A. Confidential.) He's at Porter Square Books, Porter Square Shopping Center, Cambridge | 7 pm | free | http://www.portersquarebooks.com.  

Filed under: WORDS

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Sir Andrew Davis

Symphony Hall

The big name in this before-and-after-Thanksgiving Boston Symphony Orchestra program is superstar violinist Joshua Bell, but it's guest conductor Sir Andrew Davis who caught our eye - he led, with Kiri Te Kanawa, the most beautiful performance of Richard Strauss's "Beim Schlafengehen" we've ever heard. We like the program, too: Debussy's Prélude à l'après-midi d'un faune, Stravinsky's Symphony in Three Movements, and Brahms's Violin Concerto, with Bell. That's at Symphony Hall, 301 Mass Ave, Boston | November 24 @ 8 pm; November 27 @ 1:30 pm; November 28 + December 1 @ 8 pm | $29-$115 | 617.266.1200 or http://www.bso.org.  

Filed under: MUSIC

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Melt Banana + Captain Cutthroat + Exusamwa

Middle East Downstairs

It's as if, for the last 10 years or so, you couldn't say "Japanese abstract noise rock" without thinking Melt Banana. The trio are known for their frantically paced, experimental Japanoise, with frontwoman Yasuko Onuki adding vocals that sound like the primal screech of a rabid and furious cat. As their frequently sold-out tours suggest, it's a love-it-or-hate-it thing. This time out, they're with Salem's own freak-metal Captain Cutthroat and the even weirder Exusamwa, so if ringing ears and moshpit wounds are how you want to celebrate Thanksgiving this year, head to the Middle East downstairs, 480 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 8 pm | $12-$14 | http://www.ticketmaster.com.  

Filed under: MUSIC

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Bodega Girls

Middlesex Lounge

After a buzzy showing at CMJ, Bodega Girls are bringing their non-stop party back home for (what else?) a "Lo-Fi Hedonistic Dance Party" - an appropriate gig for this self-described "band of tricksters, hedonists and good-for-nothings." Their beat-laced breed of indie rock isn't meant for crossed arms or shoegazing, so get off your feet and move to songs like "She's into Black Guys" and "Ain't That Cold" at Middlesex Lounge, 315 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 8 pm | free | http://www.myspace.com/bodegagirls.  

Filed under: MUSIC

Wednesday, November 25, 2009

Julius and Philip Epstein Centennial

Brattle Theatre

Screenwriters seldom get credit for auteurship, but twin brothers Julius and Philip Epstein, who were born 100 years ago on August 22, certainly shaped a personal cinema with their screenplays, which, written separately and together, range from Casablanca (1942) to Arsenic and Old Lace (1944). (They also happen to be the great-uncle and grandfather, respectively, of Red Sox honcho Theo, and the uncle and father of his dad, novelist Leslie - but we digress.) The Brattle Theatre's "Epstein Brothers Centennial" retrospective opens with one of their lesser-known gems, Vincent Sherman's Mr. Skeffington (1944), in which Bette Davis and Claude Rains get married for all the wrong reasons. That's at 40 Brattle St, Cambridge | 4:15 + 7 + 9:45 pm | $7.75-$9.75 | 617.876.6837 or http://www.brattlefilm.org.  

Filed under: FILM

Thursday, November 26, 2009

Boston Volvo 5k Road Race

Boston Volvo

Maybe you can talk the talk and walk the walk, but can you run the run? Not only is the Boston Volvo 5k Road Race a kind of pre-repentance for the truly profane amount of food you'll eat later today, it's good karma, since it's a fundraiser for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. You'll feel good both physically and mentally, so get yourself over to Boston Volvo, 75 North Beacon St, Brighton | 7:30 am [registration]; 9 am [start] | $20-$25 [registration]; no fundraising minimum | http://main.nationalmssociety.org/volvo5k.  

Filed under: BENEFIT

Today's Event Picks
[ 11/20 ]   Devendra Banhart & the Grogs + Happy Birthday  @ Berklee Performance Center
[ 11/20 ]   Saving Abel + Pop Evil + Red  @ Wolf Den @ Mohegan Sun
[ 11/20 ]   "Only A Cappella"  @ St. Andrew's Episcopal Church
[ 11/20 ]   Felix Kubin  @ Massachusetts College of Art and Design
[ 11/20 ]   Jake & Taylor Armerding  @ Center for Arts In Natick
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BLOGS
Halsey Burgund’s Ocean Voices
Phlog  |  November 20, 2009 at 5:05 PM
There will be more blood
Outside The Frame  |  November 20, 2009 at 4:17 PM
The Globe, Scott Brown, and abortion
Dont Quote Me  |  November 20, 2009 at 1:52 PM
Is your doctor a greedy scumbag, or just a good Massachusetts liberal?
Phlog  |  November 20, 2009 at 1:04 PM
Brand New at House of Blues | November 17
On The Download  |  November 20, 2009 at 10:59 AM
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