Front-row reviews What: Smog w/Pacific Ocean and Wayne Robbins & The HellsayersWhere: Stella BlueWhen: Tuesday, July 29 Few people really get into Smog, one of the legends of the American lo-fi movement (along with groups like Pavement and Palace). As a cornerstone of the Drag City label, they’re legends at mixing the urban angst of … Read more
The subject matter and shiny surfaces of les caison III’s paintings make them seem, at first, whimsical. But take a closer look: The artist is digging deep into other people’s lives. caisson, whose work is rife with psychological implications, walks a fine line between illustrative and narrative painting. He seems to view the world without … Read more
A family is camped out beneath a giant magnolia. A woman looking to be in her 70s sits in the center of the group, plucking sharp, earthy notes from an old banjo. To her left, her husband — the patriarch of this clan — strums a guitar, singing a mournful song. Gathered all around them … Read more
Smither’s music feels its fullest at its least adorned — that guitar, that voice, those songs, those feet. He’s not one to be missed live. Eric Clapton? You can have him. Give me Chris Smither any day. Admittedly Smither — of Slowhand’s generation — doesn’t have the supergroup resume, the Britishness or the naked pre-teen-girl … Read more
“Don’t even come in here!” the sleekly coiffed receptionist at Eclipse Salon & Boutique declared, recoiling in mock disdain when I told her what I was after. (Here’s a hint: It wasn’t an inch off the ends.) I wanted to talk about Steel Magnolias, the 1980s beauty-parlor play now coming to the Southern Appalachian Repertory … Read more
The herd ambles gracefully into the field from the edge of a patch of woods, its members grouping protectively as they move forward into high grass. One is down, possibly injured. Another bends over its fallen comrade, apparently trying to, well, iron out the problem. When the Forest Service released its own pack of real … Read more
It’s two weeks into summer camp, and you’ve already mastered the J-stroke on the lake and hiked up High Windy, and you’ve just begun to identify the mystery meals in the mess hall. And now that it’s raining, counselors are trying their best to hype the day’s scheduled arts-and-crafts project. Camp veterans over 30 will … Read more
Figuratively speaking, Arvil Freeman has more time to just fiddle around these days. The veteran musician won the Mountain Dance and Folk Festival’s fiddle contest four times (in 1974, and then from 1993-’95). But the festival, now in its 76th year, is no longer a competitive event — though it remains a top showcase for … Read more
