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Friday, May 29, 2015

Angela Reign's School's Out Party at Hard Rock Cafe


Barry Richman, Robert Meadows, Angela Reign, Tim Pace, Roger Andes and Matt Pawlowski.

Atlanta's Hard Rock Cafe played host to award-winning Angela Reign and her band on Saturday, May 23.

The School's Out Party was filled with the passionate and high-energy music for which Reign is known. 

Atlanta Magician of the Year, Joe M. Turner emceed  the event and entertained the crowd between sets. 

Guitar legend Barry Richman and the magical Robert Meadows joined Ms. Reign for an evening that will long be long remembered.  

Below are highlights of the evening:

Thursday, May 28, 2015

38th Annual Atlanta Jazz Festival


The legendary Pharoah Sanders.
 
The 38th Annual Atlanta Jazz Festival was a great way to spend Memorial Day weekend.  There was something for everyone - instrumentals, sultry vocalists, contemporary, traditional, swing and Latin Jazz.

Highlights from Sunday, May 24th are below:

Wednesday, May 27, 2015

The Tabernacle Was a Cradle of Love as Billy Idol Played to a Full House on May 26.


 
Billy Idol played to a sold-out crowd at The Tabernacle in Atlanta on Tuesday, May 26.  The Georgia crowd was wowed as Idol played songs from the recently released Kings & Queens of the Underground as well as many of his greatest hits. 

Billy Idol's voice rocked exactly as it did in the 80s.  But then again, he is from the sans Auto-tune era. Needless to say, rock and roll's Bad Boy gave a performance that will be remembered  ... it was stellar.
 
Below are highlights from the evening.  While some photographs are in color, Billy Idol shines brightest in the edgy, film noir of black & white.  Enjoy!

Friday, May 22, 2015

Apocalyptica With Art of Dying at The Masquerade in Atlanta

Earlier this year, Apocalyptica released their eighth album, Shadowmaker, on the Eleven Seven Music label. The record features Franky Perez on vocals and producer Nick Raskulinecz.
 
Shadowmaker is a bit daring and new for Apocalyptica with the focus on Perez’s vocals. The instrumental tones are the rich, melodic, cello-driven sounds which have become synonymous with Apocalytica. The introduction of Perez; however, adds an emotional touch to the heavy, edgy tones.
 
And, with an album comes a tour ... La Vie Artistique Magazine caught the Finnish gents during the U.S. leg of their world tour.  One word, "WOW!"
 
Art of Dying opened the show at The Masquerade in Atlanta, Georgia. 

Tuesday, May 19, 2015

Atlanta Ballet’s Season Finale Delivered Artistry, Athleticism and the Avant-Garde


Atlanta Ballet closed its 85th season with MAYhem, an explosive program that brought together three revolutionary contemporary works showcasing the dexterity and grace of Atlanta Ballet’s company artists.   

Audiences witnessed first-hand the high-caliber, athletic performance that has become the hallmark of Atlanta Ballet’s dancers, which has thrust the Company into the international spotlight as a preeminent dance company.  

This season’s MAYhem featured three premieres: San Francisco Ballet’s resident choreographer Yuri Possokhov’s Classical Symphony,  John Heginbotham’s whimsical Angels’ Share and Swedish choreographer Alexander Ekman’s buoyant and inventive Cacti.  

John Heginbotham created Angels' Share for Atlanta Ballet's 2014 Wabi Sabi summer season. “Atlanta Ballet is a good place to work,” said Heginbotham of the company. “The energy is really positive here and the dancers here are lovely, every single one of them.”  

Former Bolshoi Ballet company dancer and San Francisco Ballet’s current resident choreographer Yuri Possokhov made  his Atlanta debut with Classical Symphony.  The piece, which Possokhov himself describes as “very challenging,” is a celebration of ballet, dedicated to Possokhov’s former teacher, Peter Pestov and as the San Francisco Chronicle stated "Featured Russian-flavored high classical steps rarely seen in American contemporary ballet.”  

Alexander Ekman's Cacti is a powerful piece of choreography that challenges contemporary dance with its unconventional use of space, movement and humor. The work featured dancers who intermittently act as percussionists throughout the ballet.  Ekman is not only one of the brightest rising stars in contemporary dance today, but his comedic sensibility is fantastically brilliant.
 
I LOVED this performance!

Sunday, May 17, 2015

Must-see Exhibits at the High Museum of Art


If you are looking for something to do on Memorial Day weekend head to the High Museum of Art for these must-see exhibitions.  Some are are ending soon.

Imagining New Worlds: Wifredo Lam, José Parlá, Fahamu Pecou
Through May 24, 2015
 
The exhibition Imagining New Worlds is divided into three parts: a retrospective of the twentieth-century artist Wifredo Lam and responses to Lam's legacy by contemporary artists José Parlá and Fahamu Pecou.
 

Leonard Freed: Black in White America
Through June 21, 2015
 
This exhibition features thirty-eight black-and-white photographs from this landmark photo essay. Presented alongside Gordon Parks's work, the exhibition offers visitors a window into African American life in the United States during the civil rights era. Like Parks, Freed sought to capture the personal experiences of African Americans across the nation amidst the fight for racial equality.

 
Gordon Parks: Segregation Story
Through Jun 21, 2015

This exhibition showcases more than forty color photographs by trailblazing African American artist Gordon Parks, many on view for the first time. Created for an influential 1950s Life magazine article, these photographs offer a powerful look at the daily life and struggles of a multigenerational family living in segregated Alabama.

 
Helen Levitt: In the Street
Through July 12, 2015  

Showcasing the honest, humorous and inventive works of prolific documentary photographer Helen Levitt, this exhibition will feature 30 works by Levitt from the collections of the High and the Telfair Museums (Savannah, Ga.). One of the best-known street photographers of the 20th century, Levitt (American, 1913-2009) documented the everyday dramas of New York City.

 
The Coca-Cola Bottle: An American Icon at 100
Through October 04, 2015 

Presented on the occasion of the Coca-Cola bottle's centennial, this exhibition brings together work by renowned artists, designers, and photographers, showcasing the iconic Coca-Cola bottle's outstanding impact on 20th and 21st century visual culture.

Thursday, May 14, 2015

Ed Kowalczyk Wore His Heart on His Sleeve at Variety Playhouse on May 12.


In the 90s, Ed Kowalczyk delivered heartfelt lyrics with intense messages in songs such as "Lightning Crashes," "Selling the Drama," "I Alone" and "All Over You," with the band Live.

Now, Kowalczyk is doing the solo thing with his "Throwing Copper Unplugged 20th Anniversary Tour." On Tuesday, Kowalczyk performed songs off "Throwing Copper" in a stripped-down, intimate setting at Atlanta's Variety Playhouse.

Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre Ignited as ZZ Top, Jeff Beck and Tyler Bryant Performed

ZZ Top and Jeff Beck toured together for the first time. The concert was formatted with musical synergy in mind and presented fans a full Jeff Beck set followed by a full ZZ Top set.  The finale joined the English fret master with the Texas rockers for a collaboration. Tyler Bryant opened the show and was definitely a crowd-pleaser.
ZZ Top'’s Billy Gibbons noted that Beck has long been a source of musical inspiration.  Likewise, Beck has been an enduring fan of ZZ Top, from even before their ascendance in popularity in the 70s and 80s. 
This tour is not the first live collaboration between the two. Gibbons joined Jeff Beck and his band on stage at the 25th anniversary celebration of the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame in 2009 at New York'’s Madison Square Garden, where they performed The Jimi Hendrix Experience'’s “Foxy Lady” and ZZ Top'’s hit “Rough Boy” together. The following year Jeff Beck joined ZZ Top in Lucca, Italy for an extended rendition of the band'’s signature piece “La Grange.” This, however, marks the first time Jeff Beck and ZZ Top have done any sort of extensive tour together.

Monday, May 11, 2015

Marc Cohn Wows Two Sold-out Shows at Eddie's Attic in Atlanta


Marc Cohn's rich, soulful voice, exceptional lyrics and stellar songwriting wowed the audience at two sold-out shows at Eddie's Attic on Saturday night. 
 
The Grammy-winning artist played a myriad of career-spanning songs which included  "Listening to Levon," "From the Station," "Saving the Best for Last," and his transcendent “Walking in Memphis.”  I must say, Rev. Green would have been quite pleased with Marc Cohn's performance of the best-selling song.
 
If you have the opportunity, please see March Cohn live ... you'll be glad you did.  For more information and details about his current tour, visit www.MarcCohn.net. 
 
Below are highlights from the evening:

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Tesla Rocked at Tabernacle Atlanta on May 3



With three decades of music and seven studio albums, Tesla rocked the Tabernacle in Atlanta, GA on May 2.  The band is currently on tour in support of their latest disc ‘Simplicity.’

The band began their set with ‘I Wanna Live’ from their previous record, ‘Forever More,’ and they went further back into their discography with ‘Hang Tough’ and ‘Love Song’ off of their sophomore album, ‘The Great Radio Controversy.’

Tesla played a few tracks from ‘Simplicity,’ including their latest single, ‘So Divine,’ as well as the upbeat ‘MP3’ and ‘Ricochet.’ The band as a whole is a lot of fun to see live; frontman Jeff Keith has an animated and charismatic stage presence that is all his own. They have a strong foundation with the percussion skills of Troy Luccketta and the bass lines of original bassist Brian Wheat.

Fans were rocking out all night long especially to older favorites ‘Modern Day Cowboy,’ their hit covers of the Five Man Electric Band’s ‘Signs’ and Ph.D’s ‘Little Suzi.’ 

Highlights below:

Monday, May 4, 2015

Robert Cray Dazzles Variety Playhouse With Bewitching Blues

The evening kicked off with the bluesy chanteuse Shemekia Copland.  Her soul-filled melodies and natural charisma filled the auditorium and provided an electrifying start to the concert. 

And then it happened, Robert Cray, the multiple Grammy award-winning guitarist and Blues Hall of Fame inductee took to the stage.  He and his band received admiring applause as they performing a set of career spanning songs, highlighting some of the gems on his recently released album, In My Soul (2014).

Thank you Farrell Roberts for the great lighting and Todd Magee for keeping the sound in check.  Below are highlights of the evening:

Saturday, May 2, 2015

Atlanta History Center's Party With the Past

The Atlanta History Center headed to Decatur Square for Party With the Past at the DeKalb History Center on April 30th.   The event touted history and cold local craft beer!  The beverage tasting, designed for attendees to become more acquainted with Decatur, featured Three Taverns, Red Brick, Wild Heaven, Blue Tarp and Iberian Pig. The $10 fee included a limited edition Party With the Past glass and five tasting tickets.   

Party-goers were treated to a history lesson, trivia and the opportunity to explore the historic courthouse and exhibits for free.