Music
NOVA Chamber Series @ Libby Gardner Hall 04.21
Nova’s final concert for the year was also its most exhilarating, featuring music from the French composer Maurice Ravel, and contemporary American composer C. Curtis-Smith. … read more
Big Boi and Killer Mike @ The Depot 05.09
Big Boi stands as a legend in the rap game, primarily because of his time spent as part of Southern rap superstars Outkast, and Killer Mike has had his share of success, though he seems primarily prominent in the underground these days. I was excited to see Killer Mike perform, and to see how Big Boi stacked up to one of my current favorite rappers. … read more
RAC with Alastair, Typefunk @ Urban Lounge 05.08
The last four weeks had given me the opportunity to see the best and worst of DJing. I saw C2C perform at the Depot about a month ago, who are true turntabilists and know how to entertain their fans. I also saw Faulty Dl, a New York–based DJ/producer, open for James Blake, and he gave a poor performance, displaying how little DJs can do live, onstage. So, I was excited to see Andre Anjos and Karl Kling of RAC live, mixing some of the most feel-good dance music out there. You have The Hood Internet and Girl Talk, who do superb remixes and mashups, but I don’t believe anyone does as clean of a job remixing songs as RAC. … read more
Science Friday Live @ The Grand Theatre 04.19
The greatness of Science Friday is that it makes science accessible to the masses, and since the show started with a topic that interests virtually everybody, the audience’s attention was ensured throughout. … read more
Rodriguez @ The Complex 04.29
As the weeks went by, I had the chance to see Searching for Sugar Man a second time, renewing my excitement to see him live. News of a sold-out show spread through the streets of the Internet and status updates of those in need of tickets filled my feed in the days leading up to the concert. … read more
Senses Fail @ In the Venue 04.27
After an already kick-ass night, Senses Fail took the stage and punched everyone in the audience in the face. “Renacer,” the title track of their new release, is the hardest song that they’ve ever written and it’s exactly as amazing live as I was hoping it would be. It’s so good it hurts, and it hurts so good. … read more
Bonobo @ Urban Lounge 04.27 with El Ten Eleven
With a heavy click, the smooth sounds of Bonobo filtered through the musky crowd. Ten vertical panels with thousands of tiny LEDs panned a wave of light across Green’s back and the faces of his onlookers. … read more
FaltyDL @ The Depot 04.27 with James Blake
I walked into The Depot’s stage room hearing the same synth key pulsing. It was great to build anticipation, but what I saw was being talked about in the audience more than the music. … read more
Bennewitz Quartet @ Libby Gardner Concert Hall 04.17
The Bennewitz Quartet have been together since 1998 when they met at the Academy of Performing Arts in Prague, and are named after the Czech violinist Antonin Bennewitz. The concert started with Ravel’s “Quartet in F Major,” which felt consistently boyish throughout. … read more
alt-J @ The Complex 04.22 with Wildcat! Wildcat!
alt-J’s music is what I imagine extraterrestrials would compose in response to the music they’ve been listening to our satellites spew for the past couple of decades, as a gift and an offer to communicate. … read more