Chicago, I'm here to tell you that you've got to see this magic. The world we hope for most - the one where we build something incredible out of nothing but each other - is available for the taking every Wednesday. I don't want you to miss it.
While the art, architecture, history and food may catch your attention; Italy also has a busy summer schedule of concerts. Here at Party Earth, we have narrowed down five great venues in three of Italy's principal cities.
"It's been a long time since I've been able to say this. Berkeley, California!" shouted Billie Joe Armstrong to his screaming hometown crowd at The Greek Theater on April 16, blowing kisses to the audience.
After an encore of playful covers including "Debris" by the The Faces and "Blue Eyes" by Willie Nelson, Beam and Hansard split another encore. The crowd didn't want to go home.
Artwork is work. Art does not come into existence in a single fell swoop of expressive resolution. Art is not a hobby to a professional artist. Art is labor. Choreographer, painter, composer: these are occupations.
Anyone who does anything on stage can tell you every audience has a distinct and definite personality. I've appeared in big shows before crowds of thousands who sat on their hands.
Hey, Shakira, are you reading this? Bet you never heard the song played quite like this before.
If you have not savored the joys of classical Persian music, or Turkish folk music, now's your chance to take a sweet bite.
Let's remember that the musical or theatrical experience might want to have the chance to stand on its own legs. It may be one of the best tools we have for carving out our niche in this noisy world.
The Knights have been making waves with their blend of high musicianship, adventurous programming and youthful camaraderie on stage.
I wasn't going to cover Tsuumi Sound System. Just the phrase "Sound System" conjures up deejays and a front rapper, and -- although as Jerry Seinfeld would say "not that there's anything wrong with that!" -- it just isn't what I go out of my way to shoot.
I wandered about with my camcorder, and happened upon a lovely surprise: Celina Da Piedade was singing and playing accordion, and it was so good I had to videotape it.
I've just come home from a three week musical odyssey that took me from The Netherlands, to Wales, and to Greece. More about this in upcoming posts-- which will contain a veritable cornucopia of music!
Ragnhild Furebotten has won just about every award that the Norwegian government can bestow, in recognition of both her talent on her instrument and her dedication to her musical heritage.
The multi-media dance piece lifts us, transporting the viewer completely, to another time. Set to original and complex music by the homespun Paper Bird, sound, music, design and projected image are woven together beautifully
Live performance offers much more than just a period of turning off our cell phones -- it offers an experience of an entirely different order.
Tango is an impossibility if you don't understand the great traditions of its music, and Ramada's background as a musician had prepared him for the dance. "It's profound, what he knows," Ed says. "That ability alone really has helped him with his dancing."
If you're feeling stressed and want to curl up with a bit of musical caressing from a woman who knows whereof she sings, enjoy this.
Can it withstand the lure and easy listening of the pop music one hears all over Uzbekistan? Will another generation find meaning, wisdom and strength in its messages? Time will tell.
Sometimes it would seem audiences are afraid of modern dance because it's not evident what it's about. Let me tell you another secret: that's okay. Take chances. See something weird. Talk about it.
Arif Lohar brought his electrified Sufi music to the Asia Society and pretty much tore the place apart. Lohar wooed the audience, and the audience responded in spades.
On its best nights, "Cast Party" feels like a bracing blast of air from Manhattan's theatre district. It fills a gaping hole in Los Angeles, which doesn't have many rooms suitable for such an intimate evening.
What this all makes for is a creative, relaxed musician who comfortably mixes it up with her first-rate backup band and whose voice takes her anywhere she wants to go. Where that is, only Zaz knows.
