Bayside at the Crazy Donkey
Bayside played their 1000th show at the Crazy Donkey in Farmingdale on Aug. 25. The show was part of a five-date, mini-tour with Valencia, This is Hell and Spitalfield. Valencia kicked off the gig...
Scissor Sisters - Ta-Dah
It seems as though the Scissor Sisters are time travelers. Ta-Dah, the follow up to their self-titled 2004 release, has managed to take a piece of every generation of 20th and 21st century music...
Queensr˙che - Operation: Mindcrime I and II at Nokia Theatre
In 1988, a heavy metal band from Seattle known as Queensr˙che wrote the record that would change their careers forever. Operation: Mindcrime was a bold record, filled with social commentary, politically...
The Science of Sleep
Amongst a frenzy of soft images and creative compositions, we visit a world somewhere to the right of Never Never Land and follow Stephane Miroux, artist extraordinaire, through a rat race that is unlike any...
Audioslave - Revelations
Back in the winter of 2001, I heard probably the most exciting news I could ever hear in the music industry at that time. I had heard about a project featuring the three remaining members of...
Medieval Festival at Sands Point Preserve
Next to a dinosaur exhibit, the Sands Point Preserve hosted its annual Medieval Festival Sept. 9 and 10 and 16 and 17. Upon paying your $7 admission fee, you are privy to jousting and fencing enactments...
Sandra Grace - Do You Have a Lover?
Sandra Grace returns with her third album, Do You Have a Lover? It's a sexy sizzler of dance tracks that'll keep you moving. She serves as producer, performer and composer of this collection...
Rock Lobster
The North Shore Boys & Girls Club has been bringing music to the teenagers of the area for nearly 10 years through their concert program known as the Rock Lobster. Though they average between 100 and 150...
The Mars Volta - Amputechture
Of the bands that have made their mark in the past four years, The Mars Volta have decided not just to make their mark, but engrave it into the music industry's bathroom wall. Since 2002, the Mars Volta have...
Huntington Folk Festival
The Folk Music Society of Huntington, along with the Huntington Arts Council, presented Long Island with the first annual Huntington Folk Festival at Heckscher Park on August 12. They started off with an...
Half Nelson
Tough black kids from a bad 'hood are transformed by a white teacher...at least that's how Hollywood spins it. But what happens when the teacher is naughtier than the students? Half Nelson (co-written...
Hervey and Sinisi at The Cup
Most every pre-bargoing Long Island adolescent and suburban hipster has at least heard of, if not frequents, The Cup in Wantagh, pleasantly located in a sneaky back street that overlooks the train station...
Muse - Black Holes and Revelations
Addressing the masses through the airwaves, Muse is recruiting for a worldwide revolution. With Black Holes and Revelations, Radiohead's darker, more disturbed, little brother takes aim at a planet corrupt...
Pirates of the Caribbean - Dead Man's Chest
This sequel, directed by Gore Verbinski, starts with a twist, like an artistic montage of depressing images, a bride (Keira Knightly) is crying in a downpour. The opening scenes of the movie make you...
Peaches - Impeach My Bush
Miss Merill Nisker, also known as the reigning queen of electro-sex, has managed to score another victory with Impeach My Bush while keeping her standing tradition of filthy lyrics, raunchy objectification...
What Would Olive Do? A Review of Little Miss Sunshine
The plot is as follows: a wonderfully un-self-conscious little girl qualifies for the Little Miss Sunshine beauty pageant. Afraid to leave anyone home unattended, the entire family hops in an increasingly...
Hippiefest at Brookhaven Amphitheater
Droves of old hippies, as well as some younger ones, turned up for the First Annual Hippiefest at the Brookhaven Amphitheater on August 13. Wavy Gravy, the MC from the original Woodstock, who recently...
Darwin at the American Museum of Natural History
Need to get away from the hot summer days? Try having an educational stroll through a museum. The American Museum of Natural History has great exhibits to enliven your brain. One that is for everyone...
My Super Ex-Girlfriend
It's a bird, it's a plane, no, no, it's a great white shark? This guy flick takes a surprise turn around a bitter corner when the crazy girl magnet ends a relationship with a neurotic and vindictive super hero...
Left Alone - Dead American Radio
Dead American Radio, Left Alone's second album, has something to offer a variety of listeners. It is a unique album because it serves up rock, punk, a little country, ska and then some. At the helm...
John Tucker Must Die
Gaze into those beautiful rich pools of blue and what do you see? An innocent girl of good repute desperately urging to break free from her shell or the vicious vamp eager to destroy John Tucker...
Warped Tour
Vans Warped Tour turned the back parking lot of Nassau Coliseum into a punk rock playground on Saturday, August 5. This was the first time the rock festival came to Long Island, leaving behind its long time...
Pure Reason Revolution - The Dark Third
Pure Reason Revolution's The Dark Third is a strong album that exudes, both in its music and vocals, a rock opera mood. The first part of The Dark Third could easily and effectively serve as...
Siren Music Festival
The 6th Annual Village Voice Siren Music Festival drew a record crowd this year, with an assortment of over 150,000 hipsters, indie kids, punkers and bohemians of all sorts clamoring...
Inkwell - These Stars Are Monsters
Inkwell's These Stars Are Monsters is fun with catchy choruses, strong vocals and upbeat music. This is definitely a grows-on-you-with-each-listen kind of album. The twelve track...
Fiona Apple at Jones Beach Theater
Fiona Apple needs a hug. A hard core, drop everything, no reservations hug from someone with some sincere interest in her well being. She had her brilliant breakthrough in 1996, at the age of 19...
Wolfmother
A few years ago there was a short trend in music which spawned a few bands that seemed to be cut from the same mold. They were all different in many ways, but all had something in common. They all sounded...
The Autumn Offering - Embrace the Gutter
The Autumn Offering returns with a second album, Embrace the Gutter. With this sophomore effort, especially in the middle portions of the album, the five-man band from Florida seems to be developing...
The Devil Wears Prada
Our journey begins with Ann Hathaway as Andy eating breakfast, in the non-materialistic, anti-conformity, first-year post-collegiate, humble (poor) apartment. She heads off to the twilight zone for an...
Superman Returns
The DC Universe has done it again. Superman Returns has been in production for years now. Everyone in the movie world as well as the comic book world has been waiting in anticipation for this movie...
Sacred Chow
Sacred Chow offers not only a fabulous variety of vegan entrées, appetizers and desserts, but also vegan beer, wine and mixed drinks. It's all fresh, served with a smile, and, I imagine, prepared with love...
Sandra Bernhard at the Daryl Roth Theatre, June 29
It was dangerous trudging through the torrential rains at dusk, but the show must go on. On this occasion, Sandra Bernhard performed her latest show Everything Bad & Beautiful...
EELS - Live in Battery Park
It was a perfect summer Tuesday night in Battery Park, but in front of a crowd of hundreds, a bunch of bearded mountain men in army green jumpsuits were defiantly singing about...
Melanie at the Cutting Room
It may not be 1969, but Woodstock's hippie chick Melanie is still writing folk music, as well as playing old fan favorites, that bring listeners back to the summer of love...
Regina Spektor - Begin to Hope
The shock haired ravenous beauty who calls herself Regina Spektor has this strange tendency to create beautifully poetic songs that will stay in your head for days and days...
Jenn Lindsay - Uphill Both Ways
Uphill Both Ways, the sixth album of New York City-based songwriter Jenn Lindsay, is truly amazing. Her sweet but strong vocals and her acoustic folk-pop (as well as her lyrics) are reminiscent of...
Linda Ronstadt Live at North Fork Theatre
In the dark and stormy night of June 9, Linda Ronstadt sang to a nearly full room at the North Fork Theatre. But she was introduced to an already warmed up audience, who was charmed by...
Head Automatica - Popaganda
Long Island-based band Head Automatica just released Popaganda, a follow-up to Decadence released in 2004. Appropriately titled, as this CD, sounding very mainstream and poppy, is...
Kathy Griffin Live at Nokia Theatre
Funny lady Kathy Griffin is becoming quickly notorious for her quirky and relatable brand of humor similar to headlines found on the supermarket checkout lines. So it is safe to assume that anyone who...
Full Out Freak
On their self-titled debut album, Full Out Freak, the four man band from Hoboken, NJ, delivers twelve high-energy tunes with catchy choruses and powerful guitar riffs. Full Out Freak consists of...
Rural Free Delivery - Come On Home
With their debut album, Come On Home, Rural Free Delivery proves that a little bit of everything adds up to a whole lot of great music. And great music means: country, blues, jazz, Latin, rock, and then some...
The Little Willies
Grammy winner Norah Jones, along with The Little Willies, returns with a honky tonk twist on some old music in a genre unlike her previous albums. Whether or not you are a fan of country music...
The Fabulous Entourage:
Play Nice Now CD Release Party at Galapagos
The Fabulous Entourage deserve to be provided with a bright red front curtain, which rises dramatically as they begin the opening vamp of their Theme Song in any venue that books them...
The Facts of Life DVD
You take the good. You take the bad. You take them both and there you have the first two seasons of The Facts of Life on DVD. Finally. The show was immensely popular during it's nine-year run...
X-Men 3: The Last Stand
The final movie in this comic book inspired trilogy packs in a lot more action and mutant skill than the previous two. This story closed with a typical cliff hanger, where the final few moments suggest...
Doug Hinrichs' Q & A: A Mix of Jazzy, Funky Beats
On his debut album, Q & A, percussionist Doug Hinrichs serves up an interesting mix of jazzy, funky world beats. Upon my first listen, I realized portions of these songs could find their way...
Jared Barkan - Darkblue
On his second EP, Darkblue, New York born-and-raised, currently California-based, singer-songwriter Jared Barkan once again shows off his gorgeous guitar playing and vocals...
Long Island Film Festival
The Long Island Film Festival, held from May 4 to the May 7 at the Glen Cove Cinemas, brought together both local and national filmmakers to create a huge success...
There She Goes
It's nearly midnight as the lovely Theo awaits her cue from the Skyscrapers. It's hard to believe she's the same pony-tailed woman seen backstage just an hour ago, relaxing with some Starbucks in a hoodie...
They Know What They Know
Can a punk band known for their incredible on-stage energy still rock hard even when they go acoustic? Yeah yeah yeah, they can. Still a relatively new band, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs have already proven...
American Cannibal: The Road to Reality
This is one documentary that will surprise you and leave you wanting more...but not in a good way. Everything that would persuade you to see it, whether it be the trailer, the brief write-up...
Steve Lieberman - Viva the Gangsta Rabbi - Live
Steve Lieberman is a true rocker through and through - and one of the last to have been recorded at the now defunct Downtown in Farmingdale. This live disc was recorded when he opened for...
The Ks - Skunk
The Ks' newest album Skunk is full of short, power pop gems. The first track, Turn It Up, is a rocking tune reminiscent of '80s metal bands...
The Blaque Rose Project Live
The Blaque Rose Project entertained friends, family, fans and bar patrons at Noche Blue in Levittown, a cozy and intimate venue, on April 28 with a mix of both old and new material...
Tool - 10,000 Days
There was once a time, way back in the day when a band got together and wrote a cohesive collection of songs and ideas and put them into a nifty little package. This convenient package was called an album...
The Blaque Rose Project - Best Of EP
This female-fronted blues-rock band has what it takes to make it big. In fact, their sound is reminiscent of Antigone Rising, fellow locals whose fan base, which includes the Rolling Stones, continues to grow...
Disgraceland Family Freakshow
Without ever having been to the Coney Island freak show, it's hard to create a basis for comparison, but damn was the Disgraceland Family Freakshow at East West on April 22 creepy! Chock full of...
Greg Patane - Demo EP
Greg Patane's demo sounds like someone handed an acoustic guitar to the front man from an emo or pop-punk band, a la Dashboard Confessional. Nasally vocals aside, that's not always a bad thing...
The Hate My Day Jobs - Demo EP
There's nothing revolutionary here, but these guys certainly do what they do very well. And what they do is snotty, garage rock, with the bravado and feedback that brings the listener back 40 years or so...
Ska and Funk at Live Trax
Several local bands drew a modest crowd of very young-looking drinkers for a show at Live Trax in Bellmore on April 14. In fact, the whole night was a flashback to high school, the dark room pulsating...
Radio 94
One would think a cover band would play the same lame music that has been filtered through our radios for decades. Well there is a band out there that strays from the norm and livens up the music...
Teddy Thompson - Separate Ways
It may have taken British, singer-songwriter Teddy Thompson, who splits his time between England and New York City, six years to come out with his sophomore album, Separate Ways...
Eliza Gilkyson
The mention of open mic nights often causes chills and shudders to run down the spine of any intelligent and critical music fan. However, the open mic that set the mood of the night for Austin...
Laff-Off Competition
Who knew that Long Islanders had a sense of humor? Most likely not most residents of Nassau and Suffolk Counties. And after the Third Annual Laff-Off Competition sponsored by the Huntington Arts Council...
Lestat
Lestat rises from nearly one thousand pages to the stage only to summon subtle laughter, and fall quickly on wandering minds and tired eyes...
Metalheads Pay Respect to One of Their Own
This past weekend I attended the Metalheart Memorial Benefit Show in memory of Jamie Giel. Exciter, a Judas Priest Cover band, Dimentianon, a death/black metal band, and Disillusioned...
Thank You for Smoking
This movie portrays the life and corruptions of one of tobacco's leading lobbyists, in all of his self-inflated glory. The movie opens with a monolog from Nick Naylor, the lobbyist...
