 |
|
Il Mare alla Chiesa
If the light falls just right and one is properly sated and besotted by halibut, polenta and the requisite number of Campari-and-gin's, the southern end of Church street may be magically transmuted into a northern Italian coastal village. Pescheria, an old Italian noun meaning expensive fish served in relatively unpretentious environments, lives up to expectations. Accordingly, one should come in search of charmingly simple, rather than elaborately haute, cuisine. |
 |
|
A New Look for a New Year
Kansas City rapper Tech N9ne has a clean-cut new look -- his trademark bright red spikes are gone -- but his lyrical style remains poignant and twisted. He returns to the Bay Area later this month in support of his latest album Everready, which includes several tracks produced by Northern California heavyweight Rick Rock, and appearances by Vallejo's E-40 and Sacramento rapper Brotha Lynch. Tech N9ne spoke with SF Station during a phone interview from a tour date in Salt Lake City. |
 |
|
SF Station Blows It Up
The first night Fall Out Boy hit the stage in front of a sold out crowd, 2,000 plus fans screamed uncontrollably. The Boys stirred the crowd into a frenzy with outrageous moves and quick guitar rhythms. It was no surprise that old and new songs were graced with a phenomenal stage presence. Their on stage finesse is accompanied by lyrics that capture teenage angst about love, life and the difficulties of growing up. |
 |
|
Released on Sub Pop, 1/23/07
The endorsement of The Shins by Natalie Portman in the 2004 sleeper hit Garden State served as quite the catalyst for the previously ("relatively") unknown band. The quirky, brilliant idiosyncratic sound of The Shins was in many ways the perfect sound for a film that could be described in a similar fashion. Suddenly, The Shins had a whole new audience of listeners. |
 |
|
Released on Layered Music, 2/20/07
It is both a risk and an assertion to take on a name such as Cougar, even more so if you are an instrumental, improvisational five-piece from Madison, Wisconsin. Namely there is the fear you will be lost and forgotten on the Noah's Arc of other animals trying to make it through the entertainment industry flood, but also the fact that it is quite the name to live up to. |
 |
|
Suburban Crime Drama Scores
Written and directed by Nick Cassavetes (The Notebook, John Q), Alpha Dog is loosely based on Jesse James Hollywood, a mid-level Southern California drug dealer who, before he turned twenty, became a fugitive and earned a spot on the FBI's most wanted list (he was apprehended in South America two years ago and is currently awaiting trial on multiple charges). The film, however, is not a romanticized, sentimentalized exploration of a minor criminal who meets a violent, premature end. Instead, it is a wrenching, if overlong, cultural critique of suburbia and wannabe gangstas. |
 |
|
Derivative, Unimaginative, and Ultimately Unengaging
Written and directed by Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, The Professional) from an idea by Celine Garcia and children's books written by Besson, Arthur and the Invisibles ("Arthur et les Minimoys"), the promised first in a live-action/computer animated fantasy trilogy penned and directed by Besson, turns out to be exactly what you'd expect from a filmmaker well known for his lack of subtlety and unoriginality. |
 |
|
A Taste of the Authentic
At this junction in spa history, the comprehensive system of healthy pampering known as Ayurveda -- an across-the-board Hindu wellness practice that translates to "knowledge of life" in Sanskrit -- is part and parcel of the industry lexicon. In San Francisco alone, there are at least a dozen spas that profess to employ some ancient Ayurvedic techniques in their services. But for spa babies who aren't content with watered-down exotics (an oil treatment here, a mantra thrown in for good measure there), Maharishi Ayurveda Health Spa is the real deal. |
 |
|
A Ripping Social Satire of Love and Marriage
W. Somerset Maugham's plays concentrated on social commentary and the conventions of marriage, and in his clever satire, "The Circle", Maugham presents his audience with a circuitous dilemma -- is marriage for practical purposes, or is marriage for love and passion? The drama here is in two generations of upper-crust marriages where characters are confronted with similar impulses, with wives who seek to abandon stability for a shot at romance. |
|
