BY: ALEXANDRA CAVALLO
Photo Credit: Autumn de Wilde
This fall, two museums are offering innovative live music series, bringing pop, hip-hop and rock to spaces better known for lowered voices. At the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, local soul/hip-hop singer Shea Rose and producer Simone Scazzocchio curate RISE, which pairs on-the-rise artists with established musicians for performances in the museum’s Calderwood Hall. The series launches Sept. 24 with LA soul trio KING and pop rocker Dave Mackay, and stay tuned for Malaysian singer Yuna with Women of the World on Oct. 22. Meanwhile, Chestnut Hill’sMetropolitan Waterworks Museum and Non-Event present Experimental Music in the Great Engines Hall, which invites artists to perform on a most unusual stage amid Victorian pumping engines. That series kicks off Sept. 16 with Australian synth artist John Chantler and composer and media artist Lawrence English.
Head to the Lawn on D before the weather turns for an evening of all-local—and all free!—tunes atSound of Our Town. Now in its second year and curated by Vanyaland (our 2015 Boston’s Best winner for Music Mover and Shaker), the all-ages music fest serves as a kickoff to the Boston Music Awards voting season and features performances by powerhouse homegrown acts, including two Boston’s Best winners, Will Dailey and Ruby Rose Fox, art-rockers Oh, Malô, synth-poppers Bearstronaut and more. Get rocking and then get voting on Sept. 24 when Sound of Our Town unleashes some killer Boston beats.
Photo Credit: Passion Pit: Steven Brahms
A host of hitmakers are stopping in town this fall. Some highlights: local electro-poppers-made-very-good Passion Pit at the Lawn on D on Sept. 16, OGMiley/Queen of Pop Madonna at TD Garden on Sept. 26 and Swedish pop sensation Tove Lo (who famously flashed the crowd at this past May’s Boston Calling) at Royale on Oct. 14.
Photo Credit: John Gage: Hazel Larsen Archer / Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center
Elaine Rombola isn’t your average piano tuner. On Nov. 7 and 8 (and then again Jan. 9-10), the local pianist and teacher will insert a variety of unusual objects, including screws, paperclips and erasers, into the strings of the ICA’s in-gallery piano, altering the instrument according to the specifications of the late avant-garde composer John Cage (pictured here). “The sound of the instrument, which sounds almost nothing like a piano, just blew my mind,” says Rombola, who’ll be playing selections from Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes as part of her performance, The Prepared Piano. “I’m excited that I might be able to bring that kind of ear-opening experience to some ICA-goers. The sound isn’t what you’d expect when you hear there are bolts and screws and pieces of rubber stuck inside the piano. What you hear is actually a lot of delicate but resonant gong sounds—soft clicks and thumps, rattling and buzzing.”
ICYMI: Emo isn’t dead. Proof of this is a host of killer billings, of both new and veteran acts, at venues across town. Mark your calendars and smear your eyeliner for…
Four Year Strong at the Middle East on Oct. 11 The Worcester pop-punk outfit headlines a bill including fellow Bay State act Defeater and Pennsylvania rockers Superheaven. However, genre fans would do well to catch a set by Elder Brother, a side project composed of members of The Story So Far and Daybreaker.
Have Mercy at the Sinclair on Oct. 18 The Baltimore indie/emo outfit will have you feeling all the feelings when they headline a bill also featuring two locally grown acts—emo/pop rockers Transit and emo/alt rockers Somos. Both are worth getting there early to catch.
The Get Up Kids at the Paradise Rock Club on Dec. 8 If you haven’t cried along to the Get Up Kids’ “Mass Pike,” then you might not have a pulse. True, the emo pioneers were actually from Kansas City, but we’ll go on the record saying that few other bands have captured the melancholy spirit of a long, late drive home to Boston with a lover quite so poignantly. The Kids don’t stop in town on their 20th anniversary tour until December, but you should mark your calendars—and grab your tickets—now.
The Avett Brothers are veterans on the festival circuit. The North Carolina folkies play the kind of chill, easy music that seems tailor-made for breezy outdoor concerts—but don’t think that means their Friday night headlining set at Boston Calling (Sept. 25-27) will be low-key. We checked in with co-frontman and guitarist Seth Avett to find out what we can expect.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT PLAYING A FEST? I like the way it feels like it’s easier to get to a more spontaneous place. I think a lot of performers respond and react to the confines of being in an interior space—you know, if you’re in a theater and people are wearing button-up shirts that are tucked in, it feels a little more uptight. And that can create a very refined sort of beautiful thing, if you let it, but the great thing about a festival is there are all these sunburned people walking around barefoot and dirty. And it’s kind of an easier atmosphere in which to throw down and let mistakes fly and not be too uptight about it.
YOU JUST HAD A NEW BABY—CONGRATS! HOW DO YOU THINK FATHERHOOD WILL AFFECT YOUR LIFE AS A TOURING MUSICIAN? I can already tell you that it makes it harder to leave. It was hard enough before he was born, and now I have a lot more to miss. But by the same token, it’s so inspiring that it sort of balances out in the way of being excited and having words and lyrics and ideas kind of floating around my head. I think there’s going to be a balance, artistically, but logistically it’s kind of rough.
YOU’VE HAD A NEW ALBUM IN THE WORKS FOR SOME TIME NOW, BUT THERE’S VERY LITTLE OUT THERE ABOUT IT. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US? I’m sorry to tell you that I can tell you very little about it. [Laughs.] I can tell you that it’s either finished in terms of tracking or it’s very close to being finished—which means there’s still some considering to do, and we’re mixing, but we’re well, well into the process. I’m hoping that early next year, somewhere around March, will be when we’re able to share it with the world.
YOU AND JESSICA LEA MAYFIELD RECENTLY PUT OUT A TRIBUTE ALBUM OF ELLIOTT SMITH COVERS. IF YOU COULD CHOOSE, WHO WOULD YOU WANT TO RECORD AN ALBUM OF AVETT BROTHERS COVERS? Oh man! Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings. I’ve never even considered that question, but she was the first person who came to mind. [Laughs.] I’ll tell you what—either Sharon Jones or Corinne Bailey Rae. Number one, it would definitely have to be a woman. That would be very interesting for me, to hear a woman’s take on the lyrics. I think that would bring a new kind of clarity, a different kind of clarity, to the lyrics. And also, either one of those artists, genre-wise, would do something so far away from whatever it is we are. And I think that’s necessary sometimes for a cover to be really engaging and to have a new life. I’m not really into Xeroxed copies for covers—I want to hear something that’s an interpretation in some way.
IN A DREAM WORLD, WHAT ARTIST WOULD COLLABORATE WITH, ALIVE OR DEAD? OK, in a dream world, let’s see. Well, I think I’ll say Tom Waits. Yeah. I think that even if we made something that was horrible, it would be a really good learning experience.
Take the Fall
The days may be getting shorter, but fortunately they’re chock-full of intriguing arts happenings. Here’s your guide to seizing the season.
By Improper Staff | Photo Credit: Holger Badekow / Hamburg Ballet | Sept. 11, 2015
Ballet by the Numbers
BY: MATT MARTINELLI
It’s been 40 years since John Neumeier originally choreographed Third Symphony of Gustav Mahler for the Hamburg Ballet, and during that time only two other dance companies have performed the piece worldwide. The monumental task involved in staging it has kept the work so lightly performed, but Boston Ballet is up to the challenge and putting on the North American premiere Oct. 22-Nov. 1 at the Boston Opera House. To get a sense of the extensive effort involved, we took a look at the numbers behind Neumeier’s tour de force.
By Improper Staff | Photo Credit: Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812: Chad Batka; Beautiful: Joan Marcus; Ernest Shackleton Loves Me: Jeff Carpenter
Musical Madness
BY: MATT MARTINELLI
The fall season is bringing a bumper crop of musicals. Here’s a guide to help you sort through some of the songs and stories hitting Boston stages.
By Improper Staff | Photo Credit: Melinda Lopez: Justin Saglio
The Artist Is in…
BY: MATT MARTINELLI
Actor/playwrights Melinda Lopez and Daniel Beaty began local theater residencies at nearly the same time in 2013—she at the Huntington Theatre Company, he at ArtsEmerson. The two multi-hyphenates have been prolific in the ensuing years, and this fall Lopez takes a break from playwriting for a role in SpeakEasy Stage Company’s Appropriate, while Beaty has his play Mr. Joy staged by ArtsEmerson.
WHAT DREW YOU TO THE ROLE OF TONI IN APPROPRIATE?
MELINDA LOPEZ: I read it and thought, “It’s an actor’s dream.” It’s funny and terrible. I love seeing flawed, ambitious women on stage. Those are the parts I write, and those are the parts I want to play. Plus, working with Bevin sort of automatically puts it into the “must-do” pile.
YOU HAD AN AWARD-WINNING PERFORMANCE IN 2010 AT SPEAKEASY. WHAT DO YOU LIKE ABOUT ACTING AT SPEAKEASY? What I love most is that I have known Paul and Jim since we rehearsed in a church basement in Brighton. We used the BCA theater back in the day, when the fancy condominiums in the South End were still a parking lot—and paying 9 bucks to park there seemed outrageous. And now, SpeakEasy has this beautiful home in the Roberts Theatre, which is like the Maserati of Boston performance spaces. I also like the ethic of generosity and excellence. And the birthday cakes.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE MOST ABOUT THE BOSTON THEATER SCENE? Mad talent with incredible actors. Theatres are taking more risks with material. There’s an explosion of new plays—and learning that audiences demand them as part of the theatre culture.…There isn’t any nastiness. Really, it feels like everyone is invested in everyone else’s success.
WHAT IMPACT HAS THE HUNTINGTON RESIDENCY HAD ON YOUR CAREER? I can no longer think of myself as an “outsider.” There is a certain comfort that comes from feeling like you don’t belong—and maybe the arts draws that personality anyways. But I can’t call myself that anymore, and that in turn comes with responsibilities such as to write good plays, to really put the time in to create a body of work. And to make things better for the theatre culture. And there’s also awareness of gender bias, being an activist for the community of Latino playwrights and artists and figuring out how to lead by example. All of which I am still figuring out. I can’t fly under the radar, and I’m owning that.
HOW IS THIS STAGING OF MR. JOYDIFFERENT THAN IN THE PAST?
DANIEL BEATY: David [Dower], who is directing, is going into a rehearsal process with Tangela [Large] and together they’ll find new staging. He also has an idea for the set that is original and will inform how the production comes together physically.
WHAT IMPACT HAS YOUR RESIDENCY HAD ON YOUR CAREER? It’s been a wonderful opportunity to have a consistent artistic home, and to explore my creative expression in a variety of forms. It started with me performing one of my solo plays, and then we did one of my ensemble plays with music that I didn’t act in at all. And now we’re doing one of my solo plays this season with another actress acting in it.
WHAT ELSE HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON IN THE PAST FEW YEARS OUTSIDE OF YOUR PLAYS? I had a book called Transforming Pain to Power, which was published by Penguin Random House. I also had a children’s book, Knock Knock, which was published by Little, Brown Books and won some awards, which was cool. I cowrote and starred in a feature film calledChapter and Verse, which had a great cast with Loretta Devine, Omari Hardwick, Selenis Leyva from Orange is the New Black and that got into the Urban World Film Festival. And about a month ago I just signed a development deal with Imagine Telvision with Ron Howard, Brian Grazer and 20th Century and Fox Networks to create an original hourlong TV series. There’s been a lot going on, and I’m in the process of working on the pilot for that.
IT’S FOUR TOTAL YEARS FOR YOU WITH ARTSEMERSON, RIGHT? Yeah, it’s a long-term affair, and I’m having a great time. A big part of it is the civic-engagement project, I Dream, and that’s well underway. We’re in the process of hiring 10 teaching artists who will be going to communities this fall. We have a training come up with them in two weeks. I’m also in the process of interviewing people who are leaders in the Boston area and are doing powerful work on issues of race and class in Boston.
ARE THERE ANY FURTHER DETAILS ON I DREAM? We’re hiring and training teaching artists who will go on to the community and do workshops around personal narratives with community-based organizations. We’re also doing an interview campaign with leaders across races in Boston who are doing powerful work in race and class. All the information will be shared with the public. We’re clarifying how to share it. We’re looking at a documentary or small videos, and I’m exploring the possibility of turning them into a play that will be a culmination of my residency. We don’t have clarity as to how the best way will be, but they’re being recorded and transcribed to be shared.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE THE MOST ABOUT THE THEATER SCENE IN BOSTON? It’s really thriving. There’s a community of people who are interested in the intersection of theater and civic engagement, and how we make theater accessible to as many people as possible. And how the arts in general can be a part of conversations around social justice. I found a lot of people are interested in exploring those possibilities and ideas.
Choice Words
After working on Choice on and off for six years, acclaimed writer Winnie Holzman will finally see her play make its world premiere Oct. 16-Nov. 15 at the BCA’s Calderwood Pavilion. Holzman, who created My So-Called Life and wrote the book for the musical Wicked, chatted with us about her latest creation.
WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FORWARD TO MOST ABOUT STAGING CHOICE WITH THE HUNTINGTON THEATRE COMPANY? This is the very first production, so just the idea of seeing it realized in an actual theater with sets. I couldn’t be more excited about it. Six years isn’t forever, but it’s a long time. It’s been in my mind for a long time. So to move it out of my mind, and off the page, onto a real set with real actors is great. I’ve seen readings of it, but it’s very different to have a real theater and real audience.
IS THERE ANYTHING YOU WANT PEOPLE TO KNOW BEFORE THEY COME TO THE THEATER? As little as possible. The mood I’m in about the play is that it has mysterious elements, I’m hoping in ways that people will find intriguing. …There’s definitely comedy in the play. It’s a real mix of comedy and drama.
WHAT WAS THE IMPETUS BEHIND HAVING A JOURNALIST AS THE PROTAGONIST? It’s just how the plot and the ideas of the play unfolded to me. At first she wasn’t a journalist, and instead she baked cupcakes. But then it turned out to be that I needed someone who was investigating and had an investigative mind that could follow a story.
By Improper Staff | Photo Credit: Kansas City Choir Boy: Meeno
Lovin’ Opera
BY: Matt martinelli
The fall lineup has plenty to lust over if you’re a Boston opera lover. There’s a tale we all loved as kids, classic stories of love—and even Courtney Love. Yes, that Courtney Love. Eat your heart out with these must-see performances.
Sept. 18, Le Cid
With an 80-voice chorus and award-winning tenor Paul Groves, Odyssey Opera breathes life into this former Parisian staple from Jules Massenet, a royal love story set during a time of war. At New England Conservatory’s Jordan Hall.
Sept. 18-25, Troubled Water
Music by Cambridge composer Mischa Salkind-Pearl provides the backbone for Guerilla Opera’s world premiere performance, which follows a 19th-century Japanese writer who falls on hard times.At Boston Conservatory’s Zack Box.
Oct. 1-10, Kansas City Choir Boy
Rocker Courtney Love shares the stage with Todd Almond, who wrote this modern opera that relies on flashbacks to tell the story of a musician who longs for his former lover. At A.R.T.’s Oberon.
Oct. 2-11, La Bohème
Jesus Garcia reprises his Broadway role as Rodolfo when Boston Lyric Opera shakes up Puccini’s classic by using the 1968 French student protests as a backdrop. At the Citi Shubert Theatre.
Oct. 17 and Nov. 8, Little Red Riding Hood
The late Seymour Barab, a former NEC teacher, wrote this internationally acclaimed 45-minute children’s opera decades ago, reminding kids to listen to their parents. At Boston Conservatory’s Seully Hall (Oct. 17) and Boston Children’s Museum (Nov. 8).
Nov. 19-22, Flight
Inspired in part by the same real-life story behind Steven Spielberg’s film The Terminal, this 1998 comedic opera makes tells the tale of a refugee trapped in an airport for several years. At Boston Conservatory Theater.
By Improper Staff | Photo Credit: Marilyn Arsem's I Have to Leave: Inca Wagner
Time Is on Her Side
BY: JACQUELINE HOUTON
Time has a tendency to warp around Marilyn Arsem, a veteran performance artist who might take seven hours to slide a glass off a table or eight hours to exit a room. Next, she’ll clock in for100 Ways to Consider Time, a new work that will unfold for six hours a day over 100 days starting Nov. 9 at the Museum of Fine Arts, which has awarded her its 2015 Maud Morgan Prize. “It’s essentially 100 different performances about time and how we live through it,” Arsem explains. “I’m hoping I’ll learn something about time that I don’t know. That’s the point of making art: to discover something you don’t know.” In the meantime, she kindly spared a few minutes to chat with us.
YOUR WORK IS SITE-SPECIFIC AND HAS TAKEN YOU ALL OVER THE WORLD. IS THERE A LOCATION STILL ON YOUR WISH LIST? I would really love to work in Antarctica, and I’m afraid that it will melt before I ever get the chance. I’m really interested in that expanse of white and the fact that it extends to the far reaches of your visual field. I think that’s a fascinating challenge.
DO ANY OF YOUR PAST PERFORMANCES STAND OUT AS ESPECIALLY CHALLENGING? Well, when I did a piece called I Scream in Sweden standing outside [ed. note: while holding 30 liters of peppermint ice cream!], it was actually pouring rain and quite cold. You can’t tell from the picture, but I actually had a raincoat on underneath my dress. But I still looked like a drowned rat after the performance. Which was fine. That was actually maybe kind of the point…. It opens up other aspects of the work that I wouldn’t anticipate, when I’m faced with challenges like weather, or very active audiences, or when I’m alone for extended periods of time.
HAS AN AUDIENCE EVER REALLY SURPRISED YOU? There was a performance I did in Iowa where there were lots of college students, and they thought that I was hidden somewhere. There was a pile of leaves in it and two chairs; they thought I was hidden, so they went looking for me in the leaves, and then they were sitting in the chairs. I was further down the river, moving toward them very slowly, but they had their backs to me. Some of them knew I was coming, but the ones sitting in the chairs didn’t. So I remember just standing next to them, waiting for them to realize that perhaps I wanted to sit in the chair. I was willing to wait as long as necessary…. And the title of the piece was Waiting and Waiting. As I stood there I thought, well, kind of interesting. Be careful what you wish for!
HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR WORK TO SOMEONE WHO’S UNFAMILIAR WITH IT? I have often encouraged people to look at my work the same way they might look at minimalist sculpture or painting, where the intention of the artist maybe isn’t so easily detected, and it actually throws the work back on the viewer in terms of asking them to make use of it in whatever way it might strike them. It’s less about trying to tell them something and more about giving them a space to think about the same questions I’m thinking about.
By Improper Staff
Curators’ Corner
BY: JACQUELINE HOUTON
Selecting a single work from a must-see exhibit is a tall order for a curator—sort of like choosing a favorite child—but these four obliged us with a small taste of their big fall shows.
Photo Credit: The Juiciest Tomato of All: © Corita Art Center, Immaculate Heart Community, Los Angeles / Photo Courtesy of President and Fellows of Harvard College
“Kent’s the juiciest tomato of all is the print that made me realize that her work deserved a much closer look,” says Susan Dackerman, curator of the just-opened exhibit Corita Kent and the Language of Pop, on view through Jan. 3 at the Harvard Art Museums. “She was a nun making prints in the 1960s that were clearly and cleverly in dialogue with Warhol’s take on pop art, in particular his depiction of tomato products like Campbell’s Tomato Soup and Campbell’s Tomato Juice. Yet instead of borrowing images from commodity culture to critique it as Warhol and other pop artists did, she used supermarket slogans to update religious imagery…. Up close you can see the fine print where she spells out her new image of female divinity: ‘Mary Mother is the juiciest tomato of them all.’ ”
Photo Credit: Minutiae: © Robert Rauschenberg Foundation / Licensed by Vaga, New York
“In 1953, Robert Rauschenberg created Minutiae as a set decoration for Merce Cunningham’s new dance (also called Minutiae),” says Ruth Erickson, co-curator of Leap Before You Look: Black Mountain College 1933–1957, on view Oct. 10-Jan. 24 at the Institute of Contemporary Art. “More than any other single work in the exhibition, Rauschenberg’s freestanding set decoration exemplifies Black Mountain College’s interdisciplinary nurturing of performance and the visual arts. It is composed of paint, newspaper, found objects and fabric on an open wood structure, and dancers literally danced around and through the work. Minutiae points toward where Rauschenberg’s artwork would soon go: his invention of a new form of sculpture called ‘combines.’ ”
Photo Credit: Cape and dress from Desert Heat Collection: Courtesy of Orlando Dugi / Photo by Nate Francis
“Native Fashion Now includes a knock-your-socks off ensemble by Diné (Navajo) fashion designer Orlando Dugi,” says Karen Kramer, curator of Native Fashion Now, on view Nov. 21-March 6 at the Peabody Essex Museum. “Dugi’s work (inspired by his fashion idols Yves Saint Laurent and Valentino) reveals his passion for luxury and opulent adornment. The headpiece’s sharp quills add a sexy element of danger to the dramatic volume and fluidity of the dress. Glittering beads on the jet-black feather cape evoke Dugi’s experiences of watching all-night Diné ceremonies under the night sky. This killer ensemble is totally far from typical expectations of feathers and buckskin fringe in Native American clothing but, like all of his work, is grounded in his Navajo worldview.”
Photo Credit: Lamentation over the Dead Christ: Photo © Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
“This is one of the most arresting Renaissance paintings in the United States,” says Nathaniel Silver, co-curator ofOrnament & Illusion: Carlo Crivelli of Venice, the first U.S. exhibition dedicated to the Renaissance painter, on view Oct. 22-Jan. 25 at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. “Crivelli’s Lamentation doesn’t just draw you in with abundant visual splendor; it appeals to your other senses too. You can almost hear the Virgin screaming, and you want to reach out and touch the Magdalene’s elaborate sleeve…. Sculpted in gesso, gilded and painted, this part of the dress suggests the texture and weight of real embroidered velvet. Crivelli even painted its surface to simulate stitching!”
By Improper Staff | Photo Credit: The Trouble with Jellyfish: L. Gershwin
More enticing exhibits for your fall to-do list.
BY: JACQUELINE HOUTON
Survey the subcontinent Sept. 28-Dec. 5, with two exhibits at MassArt: the Bakalar Gallery’sSeeing the Elephant, featuring work by an international lineup of artists who’ve drawn inspiration from India (including Güler Ates’ Eternal Maharana and She (II), shown here), and the Paine Gallery’s Looking In/Looking Out, a world premiere exhibit showcasing 19 contemporary Indian photographers. And for another Indian import, head to the nearby SMFA Sept. 17-Oct. 17. for Luminous Will, a show exploring time by New Delhi’s Raqs Media Collective, a crew currently exhibiting at the Venice Biennale.
Patronize some saints at The Last Saints of Somerville, which brings Gary Duehr’s photos of local lawns’ religious statuary to the Nave Gallery Annex Nov. 7-14.
Dive deep Sept. 18-Jan. 2 at Le Laboratoire Cambridge, which is staging The Troublewith Jellyfish, an exhibit from artist Mark Dion and marine biologist Lisa-ann Gershwin that includes a salon wallpapered with jellyfish history and a slightly terrifying-sounding simulation chamber where visitors can (safely) experience low oxygen levels akin to those of an ocean dead zone.
Find inspiration at Who Said “Can’t”?, an exhibit of newly discovered motivational posters from the 1920s at International Poster Gallery Oct. 1-Nov. 15.
Span street and fine art at Copley Society of Art Oct. 8-28 with Entangled Rhymes, a solo show from graffiti artist turned representational painter Percy Fortini-Wright, our 2015 pick for Boston’s Best artist.
Travel into a new dimension at the BCA’s Mills Gallery Oct. 9-Dec. 20 with Feelers, an exhibit that takes its title from 19th-century sci-fi novel Flatland and features drawings by 56 artists who play with the line between 2-D representation and 3-D reality.
By Improper Staff | Photo Credit: Jennifer De Leon: Adam Stumacher
Fine Lines
BY: MEGHAN KAVANAUGH
Used to judging books by their covers? Make a more informed choice with the help of local authors who gave us a sneak peek at the opening line of their fall releases.
Buying a self-help book is usually the second-to-last step to surrendering to a crisis of self, the last step being therapy and the first step being a gym membership, or at least a Zumba DVD or a pamphlet for the Learning Annex.
—F*ck Feelings by Michael Bennett and Sarah Bennett • The Harvard-educated psychiatrist and his comedy writer daughter bring their humorous self-help book to Brookline Booksmith on Sept. 29.
“Somebody saw something.”
—What You See by Hank Phillippi Ryan • The longtime investigative reporter celebrates the release of her mystery involving a murder at Faneuil Hall with a party at Brookline Booksmith on Oct. 22.
The night Jess left us, I sat on the front step twirling my little brother Dicky’s top round and round.
—Half in Love with Death by Emily Ross • Ross has already won an award from the Massachusetts Cultural Council in advance of the Dec. 16 release of her book about a teen searching for her missing sister.
It happened because of the shark, the great white, the first one to survive in captivity.
—She Came from Beyond! by Nadine Darling • The Boston resident’s debut novel—the story of a sci-fi TV star whose real life develops a major plot twist—hits shelves in October, and she hits Papercuts J.P. for a discussion with her editor Allyson Rudolph on Nov. 30.
I didn’t make small talk, didn’t ask about anyone’s evening plans or even say goodnight.
—Idyll Threats: A Thomas Lynch Novel by Stephanie Gayle • The Arlington author takes her crime novel about a cop with secrets of his own to Porter Square Books on Sept. 17.
At dusk, the pigeons came home to roost in a flurry of white wings and damp air.
—Dreams of the Red Phoenix by Virginia Pye • The River of Dust author and Cambridge resident reads from her new novel, a tale about Americans living in China at the onset of World War II, at Porter Square Books on Oct. 14.
An Open Book
Home is where the heart is—and where everyone you know is reading your story. At least that’s the case for local author and educator Jennifer De Leon, whose “Home Movie,” a tale about a Guatemalan family living in Boston, has been selected for the 2015 One City One Storyproject. Free copies are available online and throughout the city, so readers can dive into an Oct. 24 discussion during the weekendlongBoston Book Festival, which will bring De Leon and more than 150 other presenters—from Margaret Atwood to Amanda Palmer—to Copley Square. But first, De Leon fielded a few of our literary inquiries.
What are you most looking forward to at the festival? Honestly, I’m really looking forward to hearing what complete strangers have to say about my story. It is rare that an author gets to interact with her readers in such a unique format as the Town Hall Story Discussion…I’m excited!
What book have you read repeatedly, and why do you find yourself going back to it?The Circuit by Francisco Jiménez. The autobiographical novel—12 mini stories, really—is narrated by Francisco as a boy soon after he and his parents and two brothers crawl through a wire fence in a Mexican border town at night. So begins their journey on the “circuit” as migrant farmworkers in California in the 1940s. I have taught this book in many of my classes…from college creative writing classes to adult memoir classes and, currently, my 7th- and 8th-grade classes at the Boston Teachers Union School in Jamaica Plain. I return to this book for many reasons—among them, figurative language, exceptional dialogue, imagery, characters in conflict and others—but above all, this is a good book because it tells a good story. People want to know what happens next.
What would your dream library look like? Aside from some ideas that come to mind immediately—laptops, tutors, comfortable couches, open-mic events, creative writing workshops and seminars—are others that are less obvious but would be amazing, [like] being able to take out a class set of novels rather than one or two copies of that novel because so many public schools have tight budgets that don’t allow for book purchases of that volume. I would also love to see a library as a space for the whole community, and one that engages and validates all kinds of learning—in and outside of books.
By Improper Staff | Photo Credits: Nick Offerman: Shayd Johnson; Joel McHale: Frank Ockenfels; Kevin James: Tom Caltabiano; Andrew Schulz: Elisabeth Caren
Laugh Track
BY: MEGHAN KAVANAUGH
Even couch potatoes have a reason to ditch the remote this fall when comedy stars from screen and stage bring the funny to Boston audiences. We’ve streamlined the planning—just go with the flow (and don’t forget to put on pants).
Kevin James, the King of Queens heads to the Wilbur Theatre Sept. 18-20. thewilbur.com
Hot Pockets enthusiast and star of his eponymous TV Land show Jim Gaffigan performs at theWilbur Theatre Oct. 27-29. thewilbur.com
Remind yourself of the merits of Mars and Venus with Girl Code and Guy Code stars—Carly Aquilino performs at Laugh Boston on Nov. 19-21, and her TV co-star Jamie Lee hits theWilbur Theatre stage with Andrew Schulz on Oct. 2. laughboston.com; thewilbur.com
Wendy Liebman, who made it to the semifinals of America’s Got Talent in 2014, headlines theBoston Comedy Festival with a show at the Davis Square Theatre on Nov. 6. bostoncomedyfest.com
So meaty! The Soup and Community star Joel McHale performs his solo set when he hits theWilbur Theatre for two shows on Oct. 25. thewilbur.com
Talk about leaving the crowd in stiches—fashion designer and comedian Margaret Cho brings her stand-up routine to the Wilbur Theatre on Oct. 10. thewilbur.com
Ron Swanson incarnate Nick Offerman hits the Wilbur Theatre for a comedy show on Oct. 17 before he heads to the BU Theatre to play the lead in the stage adaptation of A Confederacy of Dunces, opening Nov. 11. thewilbur.com; huntingtontheatre.org
Cameron Esposito brings her one-woman comedy show—and a vest, we hope—
to Brighton Music Hall on Nov. 19. crossroadspresents.com
Seasoned Boston comedy vets Mike Donovan, Steve Sweeney and Don Gavin headline the Boston Comedy All-Stars show at the Shubert Theatre Oct. 23. citicenter.org
Denis Leary and friends pledge allegiance to the city at TD Garden for Comics Come Home on Nov. 7. ticketmaster.com
By Improper Staff
Nights at the Museum
BY: ALEXANDRA CAVALLO
Photo Credit: Autumn de Wilde
This fall, two museums are offering innovative live music series, bringing pop, hip-hop and rock to spaces better known for lowered voices. At the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, local soul/hip-hop singer Shea Rose and producer Simone Scazzocchio curate RISE, which pairs on-the-rise artists with established musicians for performances in the museum’s Calderwood Hall. The series launches Sept. 24 with LA soul trio KING and pop rocker Dave Mackay, and stay tuned for Malaysian singer Yuna with Women of the World on Oct. 22. Meanwhile, Chestnut Hill’sMetropolitan Waterworks Museum and Non-Event present Experimental Music in the Great Engines Hall, which invites artists to perform on a most unusual stage amid Victorian pumping engines. That series kicks off Sept. 16 with Australian synth artist John Chantler and composer and media artist Lawrence English.
Local Vibes
Head to the Lawn on D before the weather turns for an evening of all-local—and all free!—tunes atSound of Our Town. Now in its second year and curated by Vanyaland (our 2015 Boston’s Best winner for Music Mover and Shaker), the all-ages music fest serves as a kickoff to the Boston Music Awards voting season and features performances by powerhouse homegrown acts, including two Boston’s Best winners, Will Dailey and Ruby Rose Fox, art-rockers Oh, Malô, synth-poppers Bearstronaut and more. Get rocking and then get voting on Sept. 24 when Sound of Our Town unleashes some killer Boston beats.
Pop Rocks
Photo Credit: Passion Pit: Steven Brahms
A host of hitmakers are stopping in town this fall. Some highlights: local electro-poppers-made-very-good Passion Pit at the Lawn on D on Sept. 16, OGMiley/Queen of Pop Madonna at TD Garden on Sept. 26 and Swedish pop sensation Tove Lo (who famously flashed the crowd at this past May’s Boston Calling) at Royale on Oct. 14.
Key Notes
Photo Credit: John Gage: Hazel Larsen Archer / Black Mountain College Museum and Arts Center
Elaine Rombola isn’t your average piano tuner. On Nov. 7 and 8 (and then again Jan. 9-10), the local pianist and teacher will insert a variety of unusual objects, including screws, paperclips and erasers, into the strings of the ICA’s in-gallery piano, altering the instrument according to the specifications of the late avant-garde composer John Cage (pictured here). “The sound of the instrument, which sounds almost nothing like a piano, just blew my mind,” says Rombola, who’ll be playing selections from Cage’s Sonatas and Interludes as part of her performance, The Prepared Piano. “I’m excited that I might be able to bring that kind of ear-opening experience to some ICA-goers. The sound isn’t what you’d expect when you hear there are bolts and screws and pieces of rubber stuck inside the piano. What you hear is actually a lot of delicate but resonant gong sounds—soft clicks and thumps, rattling and buzzing.”
Hip to be Sad
ICYMI: Emo isn’t dead. Proof of this is a host of killer billings, of both new and veteran acts, at venues across town. Mark your calendars and smear your eyeliner for…
Four Year Strong at the Middle East on Oct. 11 The Worcester pop-punk outfit headlines a bill including fellow Bay State act Defeater and Pennsylvania rockers Superheaven. However, genre fans would do well to catch a set by Elder Brother, a side project composed of members of The Story So Far and Daybreaker.
Have Mercy at the Sinclair on Oct. 18 The Baltimore indie/emo outfit will have you feeling all the feelings when they headline a bill also featuring two locally grown acts—emo/pop rockers Transit and emo/alt rockers Somos. Both are worth getting there early to catch.
The Get Up Kids at the Paradise Rock Club on Dec. 8 If you haven’t cried along to the Get Up Kids’ “Mass Pike,” then you might not have a pulse. True, the emo pioneers were actually from Kansas City, but we’ll go on the record saying that few other bands have captured the melancholy spirit of a long, late drive home to Boston with a lover quite so poignantly. The Kids don’t stop in town on their 20th anniversary tour until December, but you should mark your calendars—and grab your tickets—now.
Family Affair
The Avett Brothers are veterans on the festival circuit. The North Carolina folkies play the kind of chill, easy music that seems tailor-made for breezy outdoor concerts—but don’t think that means their Friday night headlining set at Boston Calling (Sept. 25-27) will be low-key. We checked in with co-frontman and guitarist Seth Avett to find out what we can expect.
WHAT DO YOU LIKE BEST ABOUT PLAYING A FEST? I like the way it feels like it’s easier to get to a more spontaneous place. I think a lot of performers respond and react to the confines of being in an interior space—you know, if you’re in a theater and people are wearing button-up shirts that are tucked in, it feels a little more uptight. And that can create a very refined sort of beautiful thing, if you let it, but the great thing about a festival is there are all these sunburned people walking around barefoot and dirty. And it’s kind of an easier atmosphere in which to throw down and let mistakes fly and not be too uptight about it.
YOU JUST HAD A NEW BABY—CONGRATS! HOW DO YOU THINK FATHERHOOD WILL AFFECT YOUR LIFE AS A TOURING MUSICIAN? I can already tell you that it makes it harder to leave. It was hard enough before he was born, and now I have a lot more to miss. But by the same token, it’s so inspiring that it sort of balances out in the way of being excited and having words and lyrics and ideas kind of floating around my head. I think there’s going to be a balance, artistically, but logistically it’s kind of rough.
YOU’VE HAD A NEW ALBUM IN THE WORKS FOR SOME TIME NOW, BUT THERE’S VERY LITTLE OUT THERE ABOUT IT. WHAT CAN YOU TELL US? I’m sorry to tell you that I can tell you very little about it. [Laughs.] I can tell you that it’s either finished in terms of tracking or it’s very close to being finished—which means there’s still some considering to do, and we’re mixing, but we’re well, well into the process. I’m hoping that early next year, somewhere around March, will be when we’re able to share it with the world.
YOU AND JESSICA LEA MAYFIELD RECENTLY PUT OUT A TRIBUTE ALBUM OF ELLIOTT SMITH COVERS. IF YOU COULD CHOOSE, WHO WOULD YOU WANT TO RECORD AN ALBUM OF AVETT BROTHERS COVERS? Oh man! Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings. I’ve never even considered that question, but she was the first person who came to mind. [Laughs.] I’ll tell you what—either Sharon Jones or Corinne Bailey Rae. Number one, it would definitely have to be a woman. That would be very interesting for me, to hear a woman’s take on the lyrics. I think that would bring a new kind of clarity, a different kind of clarity, to the lyrics. And also, either one of those artists, genre-wise, would do something so far away from whatever it is we are. And I think that’s necessary sometimes for a cover to be really engaging and to have a new life. I’m not really into Xeroxed copies for covers—I want to hear something that’s an interpretation in some way.
IN A DREAM WORLD, WHAT ARTIST WOULD COLLABORATE WITH, ALIVE OR DEAD? OK, in a dream world, let’s see. Well, I think I’ll say Tom Waits. Yeah. I think that even if we made something that was horrible, it would be a really good learning experience.
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