C’ville Art Blog: Lindsey Obergs’s encaustic allegories

The dreamlike encaustic collages of Lindsey Oberg currently on display at Mudhouse on the Downtown Mall have a soft, ethereal quality. The medium is unusual, and something not seen very often. It is indicative of an artist who has experimented with and fully understood her medium of choice. Although collage can often become flat and heavy, these […]

Album reviews: Sarah Neufeld, Christa Wells, American Authors

Sarah Neufeld Hero Brother/Constellation With Hero Brother, Arcade Fire violinist and composer Sarah Neufeld has created a strikingly beautiful release. Ethereal and elegiac, this instrumental masterpiece transports you to another world and conveys its mysterious story in a unique way to each listener. “Breathing Black Ground” is a haunting piece of work that feels like […]

ARTS Pick: Oklahoma

Follow along with Curly and Laurey in Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!, the classic musical about young love in cowboy country. The Black Box Players community theater group is all ages and has been putting on shows since 1986, and it is sure to fill your head with infectious lines from showtune heavyweights like “I Cain’t […]

The Family pulls a few punches to get laughs

When I think of Luc Besson or watch one of his movies, the thing I feel most is ambivalence. It’s refreshing to watch a guy use real violence in movies that are supposed to be comedies—violence isn’t all that funny, even when it’s played for laughs. A great example of horrific violence used for comedic […]

ARTS Pick: El Ten Eleven

No two sounds are the same coming from avant-garde rock act El Ten Eleven. Guitarist Kristian Dunn plucks a unique double-neck that incorporates a standard guitar and a bass, and Tim Fogarty backs him with acoustic and electronic drumming. The duo chooses from an infinite number of guitar pedals and percussive tools in recording layer […]

ARTS Pick: Lotus

Instrumental electronic jam band Lotus built its loyal fan base over a decade by weaving grooves and house rhythms and averaging 100 live shows per year. Known for its genre-bending style, the five-person group fills festivals and concert halls with a combination of dance-worthy beats and joyful rock notes, but the biggest thrill may be […]

Mayer Hawthorne talks about reaching for the next level

Indie artist Mayer Hawthorne wants to go pop. For those who remember his first full-length record from five years ago, the change in direction is obvious, and Hawthorne’s publicist says as much. “He’s relaxed his DIY ethos of crafting every song from start to finish,” reads the multi-talented R&B musician’s bio. “Now, he’s motivated to […]

ARTS Pick: The xx

London trio The xx performs its signature chill-out electro pop on the final leg of a U.S. tour that followed the 2012 launch of its latest album Coexist. Fresh from a festival circuit that included Coachella and Bonnaroo, the band blends gentle rock with metaphysical themes and electronic elements resulting in evocative, intriguing trance ballads […]

Indie bands Superchunk and Sigur Rós are cut from different cloth

The term “indie rock” is so widely used that it has come to mean drastically different things to different people. It’s had a strange life over the past 25-odd years, one that weaves its way through significant changes in musical styles and cataclysmic shifts within the record industry. In many ways, the story of the […]

Hard pressed: Books become art in the VABC member show at Cityspace

A reader’s world is fast and bright these days, an infinite scroll through limitless content. To slake our thirst for information, we swallow so many words we can’t taste them. Even books are designed for disposal: laser-printed for mass consumption and for cheap resale. Once upon a time, however, the written word was a work […]