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Best of Indy 2013

NUVO Editors — Thu, 30 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

It's time for the readers to choose! Voting is live now through Friday, May 31. by NUVO Editors It's here: your annual opportunity to vote for your favorite people, places and events that make Indy great. Vote in dozens of categories covering everything from best beer to best locally produced foods to best burlesque troupe.…

Review: Bashiri Asad and Xenobia Green at Jazz Kitchen

Ben Smith — Wed, 22 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

The combination of Bashiri Asad and Xenobia Green, Deep Fried 5, and The Right Now make for a sultry night of young soul and funk at The Jazz Kitchen on Friday night. by Ben Smith It was like the perfect mix of crunchy party funk, baby-making R&B, and bombastic soul music - a potent combination of styles. Someone needs to bottle this up and market it as a two-in-one aphrodisiac/antidepressant.…

Review: Foals, Surfer Blood at Deluxe

Rachel Hanley — Tue, 21 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

F is for fun. F is for Friday. F is for Foals. by Rachel Hanley Foals with Surfer Blood at the Deluxe at Old National Center was a surreal evening. Unfortunately this writer had issues accessing the performance due to a miscommunication, and missed Blondfire.…

Ex-Elms frontman Owen Thomas brings video, former bandmates to upcoming show

Rob Nichols — Mon, 20 May 2013 22:23:00 -0400

For a guy who decided to disband the Indiana rock band The Elms nearly three years ago, Owen Thomas sure has kept his former bandmates close.

They backed Thomas as he recorded his first solo record, Languages {Or: Get Dark & Find Yourself.}, and he has called on his three Elms brothers (Chris Thomas, Thom Daugherty and Nathan Bennett) plus a couple more friends to back him on stage for his June 1 all-ages show at The Deluxe at The Old National Center.…

Sci-fi meets hard science in Star Wars show

Paul F. P. Pogue — Mon, 20 May 2013 15:30:00 -0400

Pairing film memorabilia with real-world applications of technology suggested by the films, Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination opens Fri at the Indiana State Museum. by Paul F. P. Pogue Keeping true to the Star Wars camping-out-all-night, fanboy spirit, Star Wars: Where Science Meets Imagination, a traveling exhibition that combines film memorabilia with hard science, makes its grand opening this week at the Indiana State Museum with a midnight showing beginning at 11:59 p.m. May 24.…

Review: Clutch, The Sword at The Vogue

Wade Coggeshall — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:44:00 -0400

After an extended period in which they focused more on the blues side of their sound, Maryland band Clutch have brought back the groove that's made them underground legends and a touring force by Wade Coggeshall After an extended period in which they focused more on the blues side of their sound, Maryland band Clutch have brought back the groove that's made them underground legends and a touring force. Playing for a sold-out crowd Sunday at The Vogue, the quartet went early and often to tracks from their 10th and latest album, Earth Rocker.…

IndyProv celebrates 10th birthday with Pandora Boxx

Paul F. P. Pogue — Mon, 20 May 2013 14:30:00 -0400

Improv comedy troupe IndyProv is celebrating 10 years on the scene with a (sold-out) show at Talbott featuring drag comedienne Pandora Boxx, a vet of RuPaul's reality shows. by Paul F. P. Pogue Bill Skaggs, the managing director and founding member of local improv troupe IndyProv, attributes his group's longevity to its ever-changing lineup, which performs shows weekly, if not more often. "There's always new blood, and that rejuvenates everyone, changes the dynamic of the group," he says.…

The big government perplex

David Hoppe — Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:00 -0400

I remember a time when I used to entertain the notion that maybe Indiana would be better off if somehow it could manage to separate itself from the rest of the so-called United States. That's right: secede.

Look, I thought to myself, we have a great lake to our north, with access to the Atlantic Ocean.…

Commentary: NRA 'win' may be costly

John Krull — Mon, 20 May 2013 08:49:00 -0400

By John Krull

When someone tried to congratulate him on the win, Pyrrhus replied, "Another such victory and I am undone."…

Rapid response in the fog of campaign war

Cam Savage — Mon, 20 May 2013 08:46:00 -0400

By Cam Savage

…

Review: ICO ends season in its new home

Tom Aldridge — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

The Indianapolis Chamber Orchestra gave its final 2012-2013 concert at Butler U.'s recently completed Schrott Center for the Arts, its new home venue. by Tom Aldridge This was my first visit to the Howard L.Schrott Center, a structure practically nudging the more imposing Clowes Memorial Hall. Its auditorium, seating 450, opened April 18, and offers more bloom and slightly more resonance to the sounds of the ICO than at the Indiana History Center's Basile Theater, the ensemble's former home base.…

Giving the Pacers Credit Where It's Due

Abdul-Hakim Shabazz — Mon, 20 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

I look at sporting events the way Fred Flintstone would look at the bridge of the Starship Enterprise. But even though I do not know sports, but I do understand the fundamental truth that everyone loves a winner - and life is lot easier for you when you do win.…

Live blog: The Hunt

Beverly Braden — Sun, 19 May 2013 22:22:40 -0400

We are embarking on an adventure of epic proportions. A 24 hour scavenger hunt organized by art collective Know No Stranger.…

Review: ISO with all strings attached

Tom Aldridge — Sat, 18 May 2013 16:00:00 -0400

ISO concertmaster Zach de Pue led the orchestra in its 18th classical concert with an all-string program containing a variety of works, periods and styles. by Tom Aldridge A symphony program featuring eight works instead of three or four is unusual enough. But when the selections are (mostly) for all strings and are led by the concertmaster instead of a podium conductor, we have the makings of a unique concert.…

Convenience stores sue to get cold beer sales

Lesley Weidenbener — Sat, 18 May 2013 04:00:00 -0400

Convenience stores are taking their fight to sell cold beer in Indiana to federal court. by Lesley Weidenbener By Lesley Weidenbener The Indiana Petroleum and Marketers and Convenience Store Association has sued the state to overturn a 1979 law that restricts cold beer sales only to liquor stores.…

Lineup shake-up for Elsinore; show in Indy Saturday

Michael Homan — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:10:00 -0400

With a lineup change for Illinois alt-rockers Elsinore comes a fresh start. by Michael Homan Forming that crucial bond between bandmates seldom comes easy and usually takes a lot of time. If that connection isn't there, then recording and promoting a single album can create enough stress to break up the group completely.…

Review: Ute Lemper at the Cabaret

Scott Shoger — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:30:00 -0400

Berlin-raised cabaret singer Ute Lemper can knock out a songspiel with the best of em - putting across Brecht and Weill's brusque modernity with all due respect - but her style owes as much to jazz, as evidenced by growling blue notes and brilliant scat solos (I sincerely hope I'm quoted in saying that nobody plays the mouth trumpet like Lemper).

Lemper's Thursday night performance at the Cabaret ranged across Europe (with one overseas trip), starting from "Falling in Love Again (Can't Help It)," and working in songs by Edith Piaf, Jacques Brel and Astor Piazzolla as the night went on.…

Review: 4000 Miles at Phoenix Theatre

Katelyn Coyne — Fri, 17 May 2013 14:30:00 -0400

Andrew Martin and Martha Jacobs give nuanced, refreshingly honest performances in this character-driven dramedy. by Katelyn Coyne Amy Herzog's character driven dramedy, 4000 Miles, unfolds as a social mystery where fragments of tragedy and dysfunction are revealed like pieces of a puzzles - not fully formed until the last moments. When Leo turns up by at his grandmother's Manhattan apartment after a 4000 mile trek by bike, he finds an unexpected guide to maturity in the aging, yet animated Vera.…

Indiana Ranks #42 Nationally on Bicycle Friendliness

Katelyn Coyne — Fri, 17 May 2013 10:48:00 -0400

A few weeks back, the not-so-surprising news that Indiana ranks only #42 nationally in bicycle friendliness was released. Living downtown where Mayor Ballard has created a bicycling mecca of sorts for Hoosiers, it's easy to forget that the rest of the state has a lot of catching up to do.…

State unlikely to push for lower alcohol levels for driving

Thu, 16 May 2013 16:00:00 -0400

Federal Officials are looking to lower the blood alcohol level, but will Indiana follow? By Jesselyn Bickley Federal officials are recommending that states reduce the amount of alcohol people can drink and still get behind the wheel.…

Life Stories Project hands mic to everyday Hoosiers

Scott Shoger — Thu, 16 May 2013 08:05:00 -0400

Storytelling Arts, in concert with the Indiana Historical Society and WFYI, is launching a project dedicated to recording, sharing and preserving the memories and stories of ordinary people. by Scott Shoger This week, Storytelling Arts, in partnership with WFYI and the Indiana Historical Society, launches its Life Stories Project, dedicated to recording, sharing and preserving the memories and stories of ordinary Hoosiers. The project runs from May 22 to Nov. 30 in various locations, beginning May 22 at Madame Walker Theatre Center (four spots remain open for those interested in signing up via lifestoriesproject.net).…

Woman's Press Club of Indiana turns 100

Rita Kohn — Thu, 16 May 2013 08:00:00 -0400

On a blustery February day in 1913, 13 women met up at the Ayres Tea Room to talk about a hot topic: their right to write bylined stories for front pages of Indiana newspapers. by Rita Kohn February 18, 1913 was a cold day in Indianapolis. But that didn't keep thirteen women from gathering at The Ayres Tea Room to discuss a hot topic - their right to write bylined (or signed) stories for the front pages of newspapers across Indiana.…

Customer agency urges 812 area code 'overlay'

The Statehouse File — Thu, 16 May 2013 03:00:00 -0400

A possible area code change in 812 instead of a geographic split. by The Statehouse File By Jesselyn Bickley A state agency that represents customers is recommending that a new area code in Southern Indiana be laid over the existing one, meaning the entire region will have two area codes instead of one.…

Movie review: The Great Gatsby

Ed Johnson-Ott — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:15:00 -0400

Baz Luhrmann's Gatsby is faithful but phony, filmed in Annoy-o-Vision with all the spatial sophistication of your average View-Master reel. by Ed Johnson-Ott When the Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge) version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby opened Friday, the movie didn't simply appear on the cineplex screens - it exploded through the theater walls like the Kool-Aid mascot - that giant, destructive glass pitcher lummox with a smile permanently affixed to its icy face. Luhrmann's take on the novel is filmed in Annoy-a-Vision, an everything-and-the-kitchen-sink approach where the filmmaker ladles excess on glitz on clutter on razzmatazz, covers the whole thing in jimmies and glitter and then uses his camera to whoosh from here to there because God forbid anyone has to wait even a whole instant for their visual gratification.…

Dance Kaleidoscope on same-sex marriage

Rita Kohn — Wed, 15 May 2013 17:00:00 -0400

David Hochoy's new NEA-funded choreography for Stravinsky's Las Noces, premiering May 16 at the IRT, depicts the marriage rites of five same-sex couples. by Rita Kohn Igor Stravinsky's searing dance cantata Les Noces (The Wedding) caused quite a stir when it premiered in Paris on June 13, 1923 - due to both its proto-feminist choreography by Bronislava Nijinska and Stravinsky's typically intense score. This week will perhaps see some more pot-stirring when Dance Kaleidoscope premieres a same-sex intepretation of the cantata choreographed by its artistic director, David Hochoy, with the aid of a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts.…