I last talked with Spalding Gray at Wildberries Marketplace on the afternoon of his last Center Arts performance. I’d had dinner with him in Pittsburgh (along with six or eight others) several years before, where the general conversation was high-spirited — at least until he quietly observed that he couldn’t laugh anymore. He didn’t know […]
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Posted inArts + Scene
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
Early in Alison Klayman’s documentary on Chinese artist and activist Ai Weiwei, he is asked to describe himself as an artist. “I consider myself more of a chess player,” he replies. “My opponent makes a move; I make a move.” As the fascinating and moving documentary unfolds, the viewer realizes that Ai Weiwei is involved […]
Posted inMusic
The Boys and Girls Guide To Getting Down: A Real Life Guide to Sex, Drugs, and Bad Behavior
Attention NorCal party people, or any partiers for that matter: Prepare yourself for an all-nighter. Put on your spiffiest gear, get your recreational substances lined up and call in your wing-people to get schooled on the carnal arts of getting wild. Set in Hollywood, the film follows various scenesters through their escapades on Cahuenga (a […]
Posted inMusic
Blues, Rags & Hollers: The Koerner, Ray & Glover Story
"To me … folk music has always been the blues." — Dave "Snaker" Ray You need look no further than that quote from guitarist Dave "Snaker" Ray to identify the ethos that formed the foundation of seminal acoustic folk-blues trio Koerner, Ray & Glover. The Minnesota-based threesome, rounded out by fellow 12-stringer "Spider" John Koerner […]