The ICA just announced that the expected Patti Smith appearance is set for Feb. 21 at 6:30 p.m. This isn't a concert date, though, it's a speaking engagement in the "What New Is" series. But rest assured, it will rock. Tix, $25, at the ICA box office during regular museum hours or by phone at 617-478-3103.
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« December 2006 | Main | February 2007 »
January 19, 2007
January 18, 2007
January 17, 2007
January 15, 2007
Caramelized
I've had my head down on a big project at work, but this is big news.
January 10, 2007
January 09, 2007
Extreme prejudice?
A (sniff) sad little local angle to yesterday's announcement of the latest crop of Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. Van Halen made it into the Hall, with Eddie and Alex Van Halen, Michael Anthony and both Diamond Dave and Sammy Hagar on vocals. But local fave Gary Cherone of Extreme, who also took a turn at the mic for VH, wasn't recognized, according to the N.Y. Times. No word on whether the voters screwed him, or the band did. Bonus screwing: Neither local paper mentioned the snub.
January 05, 2007
January 03, 2007
The future's so bright...
Nobody else has done it as far as I know, not the whole thing at once, so let's take
a quick toss around the infield and see what interesting questions will be
answered on the Boston arts scene in 2007.
1. Will the ICA work? Somewhere Jill Medvedow's Spidey
sense is tingling. Sorry. She and her team pulled off a miracle by getting a
new museum built in Boston – for contemporary art – in an incredible modern
building – on a great site. It's still amazing to think about. What we have to
see now is a) whether people will come, b) whether the ICA can find exhibits
that will attract crowds AND be worthy of serious study, and c) whether the
still sorta barren waterfront neighborhood will develop as everyone hopes. The
last thing anybody wants is for Diller + Scofidio's building still to be
sitting out there by itself a couple of years from now, alone and under-visited
and getting reamed by the media for pandering exhibits on, oh, say Paris
fashion.
2. Who will replace Robert Woodruff at the ART and
Nicholas Martin at the Huntington? Woodruff (left) leaves this spring, Martin next,
and the city's two best-known serious theatres will hire new artistic directors
(presumably) in 2007. These will be the two most important hires of the year in
Boston. Or maybe while the process is going on, some of the theaters bubbling
just under those two – like the New Rep or ones that present at the BCA – will
seize the moment.
3. How will the new Globe critics fare? Classical music
critic Jeremy Eichler and and art critic Ken Johnson have just begun to make their
influence felt. Both are coming up fresh, too, Eichler with looks at some of
the more offbeat programming in town and one great recording, Johnson by taking perhaps the biggest
shot yet at the MFA's craftier programming ideas. With the decimation of the
Herald's fine-arts critical ranks, these two are the the town's most important
arts hires of 2006, and now we'll see how they pan out. (Disclosure: I write
arts for the Globe sometimes and used to edit them for the Herald. But I don't
think anyone will argue with the foregoing.)
4. Corporate giving: WTF?! The Celebrity Series loses its
Bank of America cash, the Wang Center becomes the Citi Center, and while nearly
no one wants to talk about it, the state of corporate largess is one of the
main concerns for Boston arts organizations in 2007. Related question: Does
Deval Patrick love the arts enough to invest some of the sorely oversubscribed
state budget into them? Arts groups hurting from corporate giving cuts and in
some cases declining attendance could sure use it.
5. Can we get out alive? A Globe story last week
highlighted just how many venues in the city of Boston have yet to live up to
the fire-safety codes that were strengthened after the Station nightclub fire.
I'll never forget looking at the Station survivor's pix of the moments before
the fire that were obtained by the Herald, and how my subsequent visits to a
couple of very prominent, very crowded Boston venues made my skin crawl. Put in
the fuckin' sprinklers, will ya?
6. What up at Symphony Hall? On the good side, James
Levine has been everything that people hoped he would, changing the
programming, the orchestra and the mood at the BSO. He rules. This is
undoubtedly the most important artistic development in town over the last
couple of years, and the envy of a lot of cities around the country. On the
other hand, there seems to be weirdness backstage, perhaps money-related, with
Bruce Hangen's abrupt dismissal, downsizing of the Pops for some holiday shows,
and Pops-related musician disgruntlement. There's also the question of Keith
Lockhart's long-term plans – how long does he want to put on the funny hats? My
Morning Jacket and the Pops were excellent together, but…
7. Ticketscalping – is it still for the cool kids? Or
will the legislature and local law enforcement actually get off their asses and
do something about this stunningly overt racket. It ain't just a couple of guys
out in front of the Cask and Flagon selling Sox tickets to the have-nots
anymore. It's a huge business catering exclusively to people with hundreds of
dollars to spend on a single event. And as one gadfly has taken to pointing
out, it seems to be grossly illegal. Paging Martha Coakley…
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