Atlanta Ballet dancers in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “requiem for a Rose.” Photograph by C. McCullers, courtesy of Atlanta Ballet.

Guest choreographer Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Requiem for a Rose” is set to what may be Schubert’s most romantic string adagio.  Ochoa has envisioned love as a flowing bouquet of twelve red roses. The movement of the bouquet was anchored by The Rose, portraying the beat of a heart, and beautifully danced by fellowship dancer and evening highlight Kelsey Ebersold.  While the dozen roses were traditional and elegant, The Rose was in-your-face and modern, with every body part (including her hair) choreographed with impeccable attention to detail—but without sacrificing one iota of the excitement and energy brought to the stage by this emerging young dancer.

Kelsey Ebersold in Annabelle Lopez Ochoa’s “Requiem for a Rose.” Photograph by Roy Howton.

The twelve roses –six men and six women clad in brilliant red skirts—were at their most stunning when they were shaping exquisitely carved sculptures using each dancer’s body as a part of the whole, defining both the negative and positive space in each configuration, or when they were whirling, giving the impression of unfurling rosebuds. A single, large set piece was flown in near the end, offering the most startling moment of the evening during the last movement of the ballet, symbolically ending the romance and separating the roses from the bouquet into individual, long-stemmed beauties.

Domenico Luciano and Dominic Walsh in Matthew Bourne’s White Swan Pas de Deux from “Swan Lake.” Photograph by C. McCullers, courtesy of Atlanta Ballet.

Two guest artists from the Dominic Walsh Dance Theatre, Dominic Walsh and Domenico Luciano, performed the White Swan Pas de Deux from Matthew Bourne’s unconventional, Tony award-winning “Swan Lake.”  Hopefully, Atlanta is ready to accept a new and very unusual interpretation of the ballet, because the work is definitely a different exploration of the familiar story.  The Swan is the dominant figure in this pas de deux.  Luciano is not dancing the Swan; he has become the Swan, and his actions are eerily those of a forceful, predatory bird. Not only is he physically larger than the very human Prince, but he is also the driving force behind the action. Perhaps the Prince was tired of having to make decisions and wanted to be taken care of for a change, which could explain his attraction to the Swan, who is sometimes fiercely intimidating, and always in charge of the action.   See this work with an open mind and an adult perspective:  this is neither your nineteenth-century Petipa/Ivanov “Swan Lake,” nor is it your typical romance. The choreography is inventive and smart, the characters are compelling, and you may be contemplating myriad questions at the end.

Tara Lee and Jonah Hooper in Stanton Welch’s Wedding Night Pas de Deux from “Madame Butterfly.” Photograph by C. McCullers, courtesy of Atlanta Ballet.

Stanton Welch’s Wedding Night Pas de Deux from “Madame Butterfly” was the most traditional ballet of the night.  Based on the well-known story from Puccini’s opera and using an arrangement of the original music by John Lanchbery, the work opened unremarkably with some ballet pantomime and stage action. However, even this piece deviated from the classical genre into some unconventional lifts and mature gestures that helped the audience better understand the interactions between the shy, petite geisha, Cio Cio San, and her Lieutenant.  Jonah Hooper, as the Lieutenant, portrayed an indomitable military figure transfixed by the ethereal geisha, danced by the always-lovely Tara Lee.  There is an athletic element in this pas de deux that keeps the audience engaged even when the choreography turns predictable. Lee’s breathtaking extensions and the seemingly-effortless lifts by Hooper would have satisfied the most jaded member of the audience, but the dancers also created a sweet love story. Reminding us that this is, after all, Ballet, the two finished with a classical, before-the-curtain call.

Nadia Mara and Jonah Hooper in Helen Pickett’s “Prayer of Touch.” Photograph by C. McCullers, courtesy of Atlanta Ballet.

The final work on the program was a reprise of Helen Pickett’s “Prayer of Touch,” which the audience may remember from the 2012 season.  Pickett’s work is extremely complex; trying to describe it often requires a string of unrelated adjectives. Four couples and an extra man, danced by Jared Tan, comprised the cast of “Prayer of Touch”.  Helen Pickett likes to bring out the individual essences of her dancers, and she makes their personalities an integral part of the choreography.  In “Prayer of Touch” this sometimes develops into pleasing chaos, with the dancers pushing themselves so close to the dangerous edge of balances, as their relationships shift and reform, that the audience might be fearful for their safety–if it were not so clear that they are supremely comfortable, having mastered the challenging skills Pickett requires from them. “Prayer of Touch” is fun, sexy, humorous, and electrifying.  The shapes are unique and sometimes border on the unattractive, but they are so interesting they draw the watchers in, and the result is the kind of joy elicited by ride on a roller coaster or in a speeding race car.  The choreography is spectacularly swift and unexpected, but we are convinced these are completely natural movement sequences that we are just encountering for the first time. There is humor and there is romance, and, ultimately, there is the passion of Spring, youth, and first love.

Tara Lee, Nadia Mara, Jackie Nash, and Rachel Van Buskirk in Helen Pickett’s “Prayer of Touch.” Photograph by Roy Howton.

The demands on ballet dancers and choreographers today are exponentially greater than they were even a dancer-generation ago.  It is exciting to watch the Atlanta Ballet artists embrace those challenges and emerge from the studio each year more confident and accomplished than they were the season before, evolving the capacity to undertake new and arduous roles by increasingly ingenious and exacting choreographers.   This may be the close of the current season, but the company’s 2013-2014 season has been announced. Mark your calendars!

Little Boots again demonstrates her knack for cool dance sounds, but this time around shows off less of the 80’s synthpop that peppered her debut and instead basks in 90’s house, electro-house, and disco. As a result, Nocturnes serves as the dark underbelly of Hands, perfect for after-hours clubbing.

At the outset, Nocturnes takes an ease-into-the-pool approach to dance before getting into the groove. “Motorway,” released to fans as a taster just before the album’s release, is a perfect opener, as it serves as a chilly and breezy drive while the nights still young. The other early releases, “Every Night I Say a Prayer” and “Shake,” left everyone salivating and sit pretty in the bigger picture.

The record’s tracks are assembled perfectly, each song building to the close while taking the listener on a journey through ABBA and Donna Summers tinges, unabashed disco, 90’s piano house, and spacey synths and beeps and boops (she thankfully never left that behind). “Beat Beat” is an addictive track that is sure to shake a room up, as is “Shake,” because it’s all in the name. “Strangers” is a gorgeous back to basics lovers in the club scenario. “Satellites” takes you on an intoxicating journey, proving that Little Boots is untouchable and unstoppable.

Nocturnes is a brisk assemblage of dance sounds, and there’s something here for everyone. Filled with personality, Little Boots knows her way around writing perfect clubs tracks, proving a versatile and multi-talented musician once again.

More than 650,000 visitors of all ages will now have the opportunity to go on a “Wild Adventure” with Jeff Corwin as their personal guide and to learn about the different animals residing at the zoos. The audio tours also touch upon the challenges these species face today, and encourage visitors to get involved with conservation programs at the zoos.

“As someone who grew up just south of Boston in Norwell, Mass., I spent many afternoons at the Franklin Park Zoo. That experience helped fuel my passion for nature, wildlife, and conservation,” said Jeff Corwin, who has spent more than 20 years in the field working with many of the animals the visitors will experience. “As a Zoo New England Board member and Bostonian, it is very special for me to launch this exciting new program in my hometown.”

JeffCorwinConnect has partnered with the French company Orpheo Group to develop and provide the latest cutting edge technology for this program. The audio tours are offered devices that have an interactive custom app, which allows visitors to plot their own trails, while tracking the exhibits they have already seen. The guests of the zoos will be able to see close-up images and hear the calls of the animals they are learning about. This feature becomes particularly invaluable with species that may be more difficult to see due to their coloring and markings, which enable them to easily blend in to their surroundings. In addition, the eco-friendly nature of the app greatly reduces the need for using paper maps.

Anurag Agarwal, co-founder and CEO of JeffCorwinConnect Inc adds that, “Annually, 175 million people visit zoos and aquariums accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. We wanted to enrich their experience and to transform it into pure edutainment.”

“Jeff Corwin’s Wild Adventures” is a unique partnership model between a for-profit social enterprise, like JeffCorwinConnect, and a not-for-profit organization, like Zoo New England. “This is a true WIN-WIN-WIN situation. The visitors enjoy an enhanced and interactive experience, the zoo gets increased visitor attendance, while generating income from the audio tour’s revenues, and JCC fulfills its mission of connecting people to the species, with whom we share our planet, in a fun and engaging way,” says Agarwal, who plans to roll out this program across zoos and aquariums throughout the country and the world.

“We are delighted to host ‘Jeff Corwin’s Wild Adventures’ audio tours at both our Zoos. This engaging new opportunity will greatly complement and enhance the visitor experience in a truly memorable way, and we are so proud to be the first institution in the world to work with JeffCorwinConnect on a program like this,” said John Linehan, President and CEO of Zoo New England.

Poverty Level members are lead singer Phillip Bridges, guitar players John “JD” Hopkins and Mason Coates, and drummer Craig Clontz. Hopkins also plays fiddle, and is the band’s primary songwriter. Bridges, Hopkins, and Clontz have been together as part of the band since 2009, with Coates joining them in 2011. All of the band members originally hail from western Virginia and moved together to the Atlanta area last year to pursue their musical ambitions. The band has established a great reputation and solid local following with their groovy rock-jam style of Americana, featuring great vocal harmonies and sizzling string work throughout.

“We have been working long and hard toward this moment, and are thrilled to be able to take the next steps forward with Highway 9,” said Poverty Level’s Bridges. “Highway 9 offers the skills, resources, effort, and perspective we need to share our music with more of the world than we have been able to do on our own. We are ready to work hard with Brian and Heber to make it all happen.”

Poverty Level will record much of their music under their agreement with Highway 9 Records at Lucky Dog Studios in Alpharetta, GA. The band will also employ the assistance of both Highway 9 Record’s Heber Pampillon (Mother Nature’s Son, Kickin’ Valentina) and John Maskew (Grammy-award winning audio engineer on ‘Ah Yeah’, a song on Robert Glasper’s 2012 album “Black Radio”) on certain tracks.

Poverty Level was one of five north Georgia artists to appear on Highway 9 Record’s recently released compilation EP, “The Best of Roswell Tap. “ The album is available online at iTunes, Amazon Music, Google Play, CD Baby, and many other outlets.

About Highway 9 Records
Highway 9 Records is an Alpharetta, GA-based independent record label focusing on producing debut or early phase professional recordings for emerging and developmental artists, as well as helping those artists establish and build core audiences. The label was founded in February 2013 by executive producer Brian Johnson and director of artist development Heber Pampillon. Interested artists should contact Brian Johnson athighwayninerecords@gmail.com or 770-289-2110. Learn more about the label at www.highway9records.com.

About Lucky Dog Studios
Alpharetta, GA-based Lucky Dog Studios features the Pro Tools 10 digital audio workstation with an Apogee Symphony I/O, LA 610 mic pre-amp, C|24 control surface and a great collection of mics, plug-ins and acoustic instruments (including a Yamaha G2 baby grand) in their 1200 square foot facility. Please call 770-753-0322 for rates and studio availability. Veteran sound engineer and musician Joe Kay of Got My Groove Productions (www.gotmygroove.com) is lead engineer at Lucky Dog. Learn more about the studio at www.theluckydogstudios.com.

Suicidal Tendencies and DRI played at the Masquerade in Atlanta on April 27^th.  I will admit I have never been to a Suicidal show till now.  With that said, no one warned me the moshing at a Suicidal show was absolutely INSANE!!  I hadn’t seen people react to a band like that in a long time!

Supporting act D.R.I (Dirty Rotten Imbeciles) warmed up the crowd for Suicidal Tendencies.  D.R.I. is a crossover thrash band with hints of punk and hardcore mixed into their music.  They have been on the scene since 1982.  Thirty-one years later D.R.I. has stayed true to their form.  They never went mainstream, but are still thought of as the pioneers of the thrash scene.

Dirty Rotten Imbeciles started their out their set with the song The Application.  I would have to say the madness began to brew the minute D.R.I. hit the stage.  Not only was the band all over the stage, but fans begun to mosh and crowd surf.  Keeping an eye on the crowd surfers so I don’t get clobbered, I was moving all over the photo pit trying to keep up with the band.  D.R.I played their hearts out and the fans loved it!  I expected D.R.I. to play more of their greatest hits, but they seem to have just randomly picked some songs to play.   With that being the case, I would have liked to have heard some of their classics like Five Year Plan or Nursing Home Blues.  Oh well, I enjoyed their set anyway.

Headliners Suicidal Tendencies hit the stage playing their classic You Can’t Bring Me Down to a packed house.  At this point the crowd is moshing, crowd surfing, and stage diving like crazy.  Having to dodge fans left and right, I was forced to secure myself on the far right side of the photo pit, but not until I got whacked in the lip by some dude jumping off the stage.  Nonetheless, I didn’t let it bring me down and just kept taking pictures.  Eventually, the tour manager grabbed me and let me take pictures back by the drummer (thank you).  I always thought Bad Religion shows were nuts, but this was a sight to be seen.  Suicidal Tendencies ran all over the stage playing classics like Possessed to Skate and Institutionalized.  Fans were running up on stage and jumping into the crowd.  The band didn’t mind any of the chaos going on around them on stage.  I don’t think anyone stood still at any one moment during Suicidal’s set!

Don’t let my mention of chaos cloud your opinion of how I felt during this show.  Despite everything going on around me, I was smiling the whole time!  Both bands put on a great show, proving that you don’t have to anything fancy or go mainstream to get a crowd moving.

]]> http://boston.thebackstagebeat.com/2013/05/suicidal-tendencies-and-dri-played-at-the-masquerade-in-atlanta-on-april-27th/feed/ 0 http://boston.thebackstagebeat.com/2013/04/sevendust-with-stolen-babies-lacuna-coil-coal-chamber-at-the-tabernacle-in-atlanta-on-april-24/ http://boston.thebackstagebeat.com/2013/04/sevendust-with-stolen-babies-lacuna-coil-coal-chamber-at-the-tabernacle-in-atlanta-on-april-24/#comments Mon, 29 Apr 2013 18:18:12 +0000 Ann Bodan http://boston.thebackstagebeat.com/?p=14039 Stolen Babies

Lacuna Coil

Sevendust

** Coal Chamber did not allow photos during their set.

ATLANTA (April 26, 2013) – The Fox Theatre has regretfully learned that country music iconGeorge Jones has died at the age of 81. His original concert date at the Fox Theatre on April 19 was postponed to May 10 after Jones was admitted to the hospital with irregular blood pressure. “We are deeply saddened to hear that Mr. Jones has passed away,” said Allan Vella, CEO and President of the Fox Theatre. “Our thoughts are with the Jones family at this difficult time.”

Tickets for the May 10 show will be refunded by the Fox Theatre Ticket Office. Customers who purchased tickets online or by phone will receive a refund to the credit card used for purchasing tickets within 5-10 business days. Tickets purchased at the Fox Theatre Ticket Office or Fox Theatre Outlets must be presented at the Ticket Office to receive a refund. If a credit card was used, the original purchaser must present credit card used for purchase along with ID that matches the credit card. Refunds will only be made in the same method of payment used to originally purchase the tickets at the box office.

“My heart went straight to my mouth as I immediately stopped what I was doing to call my mother back. I then had to get in touch with my cousin who goes to Boston University along with members of my band and all the local bands on SwitchBitch Records to be sure that they were ok and somewhere safe.

They were all quite shaken up. Janele of The Wicked was in Boston but she couldn’t talk and was leaving immediately. Our friends in local Boston band Emma Ate the Lion were extremely lucky. They had taken photos hanging out right where one explosion
occurred only moments later.”

Read the full story here: http://www.substreammusicpress.com/home/?p=10736

The Venetia Fair Tour Dates:

5/10/13 The Barn at Rickey’s Farm Vernon, NJ (Benefit for Boston – details coming soon)

5/11/13 Santos Party House New York, NY (w/Koji, Find Vienna, Rising Sons, & special guest TBA)