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05/08/2008
DJ Jazzy Jeff keeps the crowd dancing at Ghostbar
Back in the '80s, a pair of Philadelphia friends got together and made some wholesome, party-ready hip-hop records. The rapper was some guy named the Fresh Prince. The DJ was Jazzy Jeff.
05/06/2008
'Mid-Life' winningly obsessed with inevitable
What do you want from a musical revue? Great singing? Big laughs? Mid-Life! The Crisis Musical has it all – if you're over 40 or so.
Organist David Briggs: Insouciantly brilliant to overly blatant
If I say "Huh?" a lot this week, it's because I lost a chunk of hearing Monday evening at Park Cities Presbyterian Church. In a town with several very loud organs, PCPC's new Schoenstein may be the loudest of all.
05/04/2008
Ex-Cliburn medalist gives first-rate performance with RSO
RICHARDSON – Pianist Olga Kern, one of the surest crowd-pleasers in this area, performed her magic once again Saturday night. A large audience heard her play with the Richardson Symphony Orchestra and conductor Anshel Brusilow in the Eisemann Center.
Liza Minnelli turns up the passion, drama at Bass Hall
FORT WORTH – Liza Minnelli still embodies all that is glittery and glamorous about old-school Hollywood and Broadway. It's no surprise that each of her four costumes Saturday night at Bass Performance Hall sparkled under the spotlights. She took the stage for more than 90 minutes during one of the venue's 10th Anniversary Festival shows.
Injured Kenny Chesney jumps back into rocked-up country
05/03/2008
Roger Waters visits a finer side with 'Dark Side' show
There's no disputing the popularity of Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon . It's sold between 15 and 40 million copies (depending on which source you believe) and it stayed on the Billboard chart for a record-breaking 14 years straight.
05/02/2008
Raconteurs rock in minimalist mode
As rock acts go, the Raconteurs weren't exactly steady at the House of Blues on Thursday.
Percussive fireworks spark Corigliano's 'Conjurer'
With a brand-new percussion concerto, a flashy sendup of fandangos and Elgar's Enigma Variations, the Dallas Symphony Orchestra can't be accused of boring programming this week.
Kanye West in his own orbit at Superpages.com Center
The key moment in Kanye West's show Thursday night at Superpages.com Center arrived when he crash-landed on a distant planet and met a female space alien.
05/01/2008
Actress Morgana Shaw humanizes 'Freakshow'
It's genuinely chilling when you enter the theater for Freakshow and see Morgana Shaw perched atop a table -- armless and legless.
Beatles homage band works it out in 'Rain'
Rain — The Beatles Experience really conveys the power of the Beatles' music and makes their era come vividly alive onstage.
Etta James, still racy after all these years
Etta James may be 70 years old, but at Dallas' House of Blues on Wednesday night, she still displayed in abundance the sass and sexuality that have endeared her to fans and kept them following her career during the last half a century. She's got soul and sass to spare, and Ms. James' vocals fit the life she's lived – robust and raw around the edges.
Joe Jackson still has the class
Joe Jackson reunited his original band five years ago, and now they've been together longer than the first time around. Tuesday night at the Palladium Ballroom, it showed.
04/30/2008
DTC's 'Misanthrope' lacks Molière's delicate touch
One thing you can say for the Dallas Theater Center's The Misanthrope is that all the jokes land.
Meadows Symphony students prove to be experienced travelers
Every so often, a concert leaves you scratching your eyes – or ears – in disbelief. One of them was served up Tuesday evening by the Meadows Symphony Orchestra, at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center.
04/29/2008
Margaret Cho talks a blue streak
GRAND PRAIRIE – For Margaret Cho, the body is political. She never met an orifice she wasn't eager to explore for social meaning.
04/28/2008
A less-than-sharp EdgeFest in Frisco
 William Deshazer / DMN Atreyu guitarist Daniel Jacobs For a while it looked as if EdgeFest might have lost its edge. Weather more typical for late January than late April kept a hefty chunk of the expected 28,000 fans away from Pizza Hut Park during the afternoon at "The Edge" KDGE-FM (102.1)'s EdgeFest 17 on Sunday. And some of those who did come early weren't prepared for the chill.
 Blog: Did you go to Edgefest?
Happy feet at Dance for the Planet
It was cool and cloudy Saturday afternoon at Annette Strauss Artist Square at Samuell-Grand Park. Hot dogs and ice-cream vendors were in full swing. Kids ran around with their faces painted. A ballet dancer in Don Quixote costume warmed up on hard concrete.
Magical notes in 'Bohème' from Houston's Grand Opera Orchestra
HOUSTON – The people – critics included – who go on and on about how the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra is the best in the world, how others are far inferior, should have been in Houston's Brown Theater on Saturday night. You'd have to catch the Met on an awfully good night to hear the nuance and finesse Patrick Summers consistently coaxed out of the Houston Grand Opera Orchestra in La bohème .
04/27/2008
Houston Grand Opera's 'Billy Budd' sails straight
HOUSTON – Even the people we think we know best move to forces we cannot know or understand. And ambiguities of motive and morality fascinated Benjamin Britten, never more so than in his 1951 opera Billy Budd . Alas, it's coarsened in the new Houston Grand Opera production that opened Friday at the Wortham Center.
Meadows Dance Ensemble on pointe with student, teacher work
Whatever magic dust Southern Methodist University is sprinkling, it worked Friday night.
Lyric Stage's Julie Johnson breathes life back into 'Hello, Dolly!'
IRVING – How do I love Julie Johnson? Let me count the ways ...
Avril Lavigne blows hot and cool in Dallas concert
Who the heck does Avril Lavigne think she is?
04/26/2008
Maze of problems plague Labyrinth Theatre's 'Perimeters'
RICHARDSON – A road paved with good intentions still ends up at the same place, even if it runs through a church.
Marc Broussard takes over with his eclectic bag of Southern charm
It's probably safe to assume that Marc Broussard knows something about gumbo. Not only is he a native of Louisiana (Carencro), but the singer-songwriter also served up a delectable set of spicy jams, seasoned ballads and meaty portions of rock and funk during his nearly two-hour set at the House of Blues on Thursday night.
04/25/2008
'Sonnets for an Old Century' features frank, candid monologues
FORT WORTH – "We are the pages written in the book of God's mind."
Van Zweden and Dallas Symphony Orchestra and Chorus give a taste of things to come with Verdi's Requiem
From apocalyptic blasts of chorus, brass and percussion to all but inaudible high violin tremolos, the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center was the scene of a sonic extravaganza Thursday night. In his last program here before taking over as the Dallas Symphony Orchestra's music director, in September, Jaap van Zweden whipped up every possible bit of drama in Verdi's Requiem, at the same time imposing intense discipline.
At 81, Bennett's still hitting all the right notes
FORT WORTH – One could be forgiven for giving Tony Bennett a pass. He's 81, after all, a legend. So what if he's lost a step or three? Only ... he hasn't.
04/24/2008
An unsentimental finale for UNT's Anshel Brusilow
Conductor Anshel Brusilow, still vigorous at age 79, closed a nearly 30-year tenure at UNT with Tchaikovsky's Pathétique.
04/23/2008
Thrice needs a vice: More attitude, please
Transcendence is a slick and slithery ambition to have. Most never bother. Those who do grasp it usually hold it only momentarily, before it slips away like a grinning, snickering eel.
04/22/2008
New York Dolls: Not pretty, just compelling
When the Sex Pistols re-formed in 1996, expectations were sky-high and results were lackluster. But with the New York Dolls, the opposite has been true.
04/21/2008
Pointer Sisters jump, jam, jubilate at the Meyerson
 Matt Nagar / Special to DMN The Pointer Sisters on the first of their three-night stand at the Meyerson Sometimes concerts don't need to be long-winded. In a short hour, backed by their band and the Dallas Symphony Orchestra, the enduring Pointer Sisters delivered a blast of a show at the Morton H. Meyerson Symphony Center. The gig was the last of a three-performance engagement that began Friday night. But if this was the finale, that opener must have been uncontainable.
Blog: Did you see the Sisters?
Dallas Black Dance Theatre II second in name only
Dallas Black Dance Theatre II proved its mettle with No More Dry Tears during the Spring Fiesta! Series at Latino Cultural Center.
Pianist Alessio Bax and friends mix things up, brilliantly, at Caruth
It was called "Meadows Underground Project," and the two-day mix-up of classical music, jazz and something in between closed with quite a concert Sunday evening at Caruth Auditorium. The brainchild of pianist Alessio Bax, it was sponsored by Southern Methodist University's Meadows School of the Arts. And it was stimulating enough – and brilliantly performed – that one hopes for more in the future.
04/20/2008
Dancers go out on a limb with their bodies
The light was subdued, the tone somber, the style elegant. Or, to use a metaphor, it was gray upon gray upon gray, a palette that under other hands could have easily canceled itself out. But Aspen Santa Fe Ballet, appearing under the auspices of TITAS on Friday night at SMU's McFarlin Auditorium, proved that as in music, variations on a theme have the cumulative effect of drawing you in, while widening the scope of the theme.
Chamber Music International comes across loud and clear
Featuring ad hoc ensembles of musicians drawn from far and wide, Chamber Music International concerts often leave one wanting better-seasoned interpretations. But Saturday evening's program of three romantic masterpieces was tautly timed and tuned, and there was real depth to the music-making.
04/19/2008
Panic at the Disco gives crowd a more matured, classical show
Now we know why Panic at the Disco did away with that galling exclamation point.
Juanes showcases infectious blend of Latin rock, reggae and pop
Juanes wasted no time Friday night at American Airlines Center. He immediately launched into "A Dios Le Pido," a rhythmic staple that succinctly showcases his infectious mix of rock, pop, reggae and Colombia's vallenato . The celebrated singer-songwriter continued with "No Creo En El Jamas," a propulsive rock-reggae cut from his latest CD, La Vida...Es Un Ratico , and "Mala Gente," a jamming tune that took him into the platform's center runway.
'Bent,' a drama about gays in Nazi era, needs a bigger spritz of freshener
04/18/2008
Shelby Lynne brings sultry style to Granada
Shelby Lynne emerged from a backstage curtain, took a few steps, grabbed the microphone and sang the first words of Dusty Springfield's "Just a Little Lovin'," the title cut from her superb tribute to the late pop singer.
Composer Philip Glass charms in Nasher Salon lecture
The hearty-looking 71-year-old composer was interviewed by WFAA-TV newsman John McCaa at Nasher Sculpture Center.
04/17/2008
Feist's concert a musical style show
 Ben Fredman / DMN Feist at Palladium Ballroom It's hard to put a finger on Feist. Is she an ultracool indie rocker? A Starbucks-style chanteuse? Or is she the novelty act who dances through the loony Broadway-style "1234" video? She was all those things and quite a few more Wednesday night at the Palladium Ballroom.
Blog: Did you go to the show?
Aretha Franklin reigns at Nokia
GRAND PRAIRIE – "How do you like the gown?" Aretha Franklin asked as she sat on the piano bench before an adoring crowd of more than 2,000 fans at Nokia Theatre on Wednesday night. "When you're plump and you sit down, everything rolls out, but there are some brothers out there who love the plump girls, so I got to give them somethin' they can FEEL!"
04/16/2008
Megadeth overcomes technical abominations at Gigantour show
GRAND PRAIRIE – Even on bad days, great bands still somehow sound awesome.
Dallas Summer Musical's 'Wedding' overdoes '80s
The Wedding Singer opened the '08 season with references to briefcase-sized cellphones, junk bonds and Cyndi Lauper.
Fliter brings clarity to the Kimbell's Steinway
FORT WORTH - Pianist Ingrid Fliter gave an eloquent performance in February of the Chopin F minor Piano Concerto, with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. So interest was certainly piqued for her solo recital Tuesday evening at the Kimbell Art Museum, in the Cliburn Concerts series.
04/15/2008
String quartet plays with brilliance, bravado
The St. Lawrence String Quartet's Monday night concert was certainly stimulating, and played with astonishing brilliance and high-profile personality.
04/14/2008
Orpheus Chamber Singers delivers gorgeous singing at cathedral
You'll not hear choral singing more gorgeous– more fastidiously formed, balanced and buffed–than that produced Sunday evening by the Orpheus Chamber Singers. And it washed lusciously through the Cathedral Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the area's one setting with the reverberation of the European churches and cathedrals for which so much great choral music was conceived.
04/15/2008
Bon Jovi rocks them all at AAC
 BEN FREDMAN/Staff Photographer Jon Bon Jovi at the American Airlines Center on April 14, 2008. It was a New Jersey double header that started off the week at American Airlines Center, first with Bruce Springsteen playing the venue on Sunday night, then Jon Bon Jovi on Monday. Mr. Bon Jovi previewed his appearance by singing "Glory Days" with Brooooooce the night before, and the juxtaposition then still held true Monday night: Although Mr. Springsteen has the advantage in gravitas and critical acclaim, witness the fact that the AAC was every bit as filled-to-the-scuppers for JBJ and his eponymous band.
 Tell Us: Your thoughts on Monday's concert.
04/14/2008
Bruce Springsteen still commands the spotlight 
 BEN FREDMAN / DMN Bruce Springsteen plays to the crowd during Sunday's concert at American Airlines Center. At 58, Bruce Springsteen no longer taps into the zeitgeist like he did in his glory days. Springsteen and the E Street Band didn't sell out the American Airlines Center on Sunday night. But they reminded the near-capacity crowd why they're one of rock's greatest live acts: showmanship and spontaneity.
Tell Us: Your thoughts on Springsteen's concert
Chamberlain Performing Arts charms in 'Dances at a Gathering'
Garland. What if Kyle Schlaefer let loose his hold on this little featherweight of a girl? Would she flutter away like a moth?
04/13/2008
Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z bring it on
 KYE R. LEE / DMN Mary J. Blige and Jay-Z perform together at Superpages.com Center (formerly Smirnoff) in Fair Park on Saturday. The Queen of Hip Hop Soul, The Greatest Rapper Alive; those are lofty titles to maintain, but co-headliners Mary J. Blige and Shawn "Jay-Z" Carter demonstrated their legitimacy with soulful, street-savvy performances and presentation at the Superpages.com Center in Dallas on Saturday night.
Tell Us: Your thoughts on Mary J. Blige, Jay-Z concert
British Sea Power treads water in show at Loft
"Alcohol and duct tape are my two favorite things," announced guitarist Martin Noble during British Sea Power's gig at the Loft on Friday.
04/12/2008
Pianist Chen plays well but is largely uninspiring
If you're a concertgoer, surely you've had the experience: hearing a performer of skill and taste make all the right moves without ever quite moving you.
04/11/2008
Romano and Garrett are amusing but not laugh-out-loud funny
GRAND PRAIRIE – You couldn't really fault fans of the popular TV show Everybody Loves Raymond for expecting comedy pair Ray Romano, who played the titular Ray Barone, and Brad Garrett, who played his dour brother Robert, to just re-create the show.
Journeying Fourth
What's with Dallas Symphony Orchestra audiences? Whatever's on the second half of the program, the crowd noticeably thins at intermission.
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