Twain crosses-over musical fences
At one point in Shania Twain's show Sunday night at the Breslin Center, she was placed on a platform and carried by six men around the arena. This just solidified her image as a major sex goddess and summed up the evening - which lacked anything brilliant musically - but made up for it with a dramatic and somewhat ridiculous stage show.
Jake performs more than circus tricks
The punk-ska circus is in town. Ladies and gentlemen, children of all ages, the main attraction this evening: Less Than Jake. Wilder than a pack of lions, crazier than a rampaging elephant, this group of Gainesville, Fla., clowns are bringing its infamous show to Pontiac tonight.
Musicians spook and thrill with treats
Have you ever seen Neeme Jarvi's underpants? If not, it's because the Detroit Symphony Orchestra conductor has never strutted his stuff in a venue quite like the School of Music's annual Halloween concert. In what has become almost as much of a holiday tradition as the Simpsons' "Treehouse of Horror" episode, the friendly musicians proved last Sunday that they too can have a sense of humor, although they sometimes don't know when to stop.
Video goes 'Deep'
Can you feel the love tonight? If so, wander back into the jungle with the straight-to-video release of "The Lion King II: Simba's Pride." Listen for Matthew Broderick as the voice of Simba and the "Party of Five" tag team of Neve Campbell and Lacey Chabert as the old and young Kiara, Simba's growing daughter.
Countertenor returns to A2
They say home is where the heart is. David Daniels will be returning to where his heart is for this performance. The countertenor is internationally known for his brilliant musical talent. Performing with the Arcadian Academy, conducted by Nicholas McGegan, the prized musician was the first countertenor in the world to receive the 1997 award from the Richard Tucker Music Foundation shortly after his Ann Arbor presentation of Handel's Messiah with the University Musical Society Choral Union.
'Impostors' fakes farce of a film
It's been two years since Stanley Tucci sat behind the director's chair with the charming art house comedy "Big Night." Now he returns once again to show some more of his film auteurism in the fun frolic farce, "The Impostors."
Tucci, who wrote the film's screenplay, also plays one of the main roles - Arthur, a down-on-his-luck actor looking for employment. Along with his pal, Maurice, played by the delightful Oliver Platt, the two scamper around 1930s New York pretending to be someone else in hopes of finding a job, some food and a life.
The Artist jolts fans at the Joe
"Who rocks the hardest?," The Artist formerly known as Prince asked Saturday night at Joe Louis Arena. The Artist and his New Power Generation did. This five-hour extravaganza called the New Power Soul Festival featured The Artist, Larry Graham, Chaka Kahn and a surprise performance by Doug E.
Nowhere to go but 'Up'
No one ever said that being in a rock 'n' roll band was easy. But someone forgot to tell that to R.E.M. - perhaps the most influential and significant band of the past two decades.
Since 1982's debut "Murmur," the band has succeeded in carving and paving the non-mainstream promenades of rock music - outliving virtually all of its contemporaries with muted fanfare, relatively little controversy and complete irreverence to the commercialism that has come to plague today's music industry.
Rollins continues to move spoken words
Henry Rollins, the vein-busting, throat-testing, self-admitted "aging alternative icon" that is the lead vocalist of the Rollins Band and the former lead screamer of the legendary group Black Flag, has come to be quite an accomplished storyteller.
eels shock the norms
Behold the latest battle in the never-ending war between artistry and mediocrity. Listen as the eels struggle to avoid the dreaded second album curse, which threatens to throw them into the fiery pit of one-hit wonder hell!
Is the band's new album, "Electro-Shock Blues," up to the task?
moe. lacks true character
Sometimes an album is just solid - nothing more, nothing less. "Tin Cans and Car Tires" from New York jam band moe. is one of those albums, enjoyable to hear but for the most part forgettable.
A major reason for the album's unremarkable feel is moe.'s relatively straightforward rock sound. While the four members all show considerable talent on their instruments and an increasing knack for songwriting, they stick mostly to a standard guitar-bass-drums lineup that is rarely conducive to originality.
Reel Big Fish prove why they rock so hard
The success that Reel Big Fish experienced following the release of the hit single "Sell Out" was one of music's most ironic occurrences.
The release of Reel Big Fish's sophomore album, "Why Do They Rock So Hard?" answers the question by revealing that the band has not changed much at all.
10-27-98
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