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Band Spotlight

The Emerald Underground

By Tom Irwin

During the St. Patrick’s Day season The Emerald Underground becomes Springfield’s Celtic house band. Starting with a CD release party at the 49er on Friday, TEU next does Marly’s Pub

Band Spotlight

Broken Stone

By Tom Irwin

Known as one of Springfield’s finest presenters of modern radio rock, Broken Stone covers a range of groups, including contemporary bands like Breaking Benjamin, Velvet Revolver and Seether, alo

Band Spotlight

Deep Lunar Blue

By Tom Irwin

With 36 shows in the can, including many at the main, local hot spot nightclubs, and an 11-song CD ready to shine, Deep Lunar Blue is rising like a full moon upon the lonesome prairie. Fronted by Rand

Band Spotlight

The Seething Coast

By Tom Irwin

Formed in 2006, The Seething Coast draws its peculiar name from a lyric in a song by indie-rock legends The Mountain Goats. With Jason Perry on guitar and vocals matched with Jay Vanselow doing the sa

Band Spotlight

Margaret Murphy with Chuck Webb

By Tom Irwin

A world-class jazz vocalist and her equally celebrated bassist husband makes Valentine’s Day weekend a special event at Remy’s on Monroe. The Chicago-based couple entertains with a drummer

Band Spotlight

Telegraph 3am

By Tom Irwin

Here comes a new band featuring several familiar area musicians including Brian Reilly (guitar and vocals), John Reilly (vocals), Mike Taft (lead guitar), Charlie Barnes (bass), Pat Miller (drums), an

Band Spotlight

Coldshot

By Tom Irwin

Direct from the metro-east St. Louis area, Coldshot makes its Springfield debut playing for the Goulden Motorsports Fundraiser, a private party open to the public. Not one to mess around with subtle s

Band Spotlight

Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles

By Tom Irwin

A year ago, Sarah Borges and the Broken Singles became the talk of the town after a bang-up performance at the Bedrock 66 Live! concert series presented by WUIS at the Hoogland Center for the Arts and

Band Spotlight

Jake’s Leg

By Tom Irwin

For over 30 years, Jake’s Leg has faithfully and uniquely reproduced the music of the Grateful Dead while extending the spirit of the popular band through heartfelt lifestyle interpretation and

Band Spotlight

Brandon Carnes

By Tom Irwin

Billed as an EP release-slash-going away party, the Brandon Carnes extravaganza this weekend is not your average concert. Son of local singer-musician Suzanne Carnes, the 20 year-old singer-songwriter

Books

The Heartland needs more than hope

By Matthew Schroyer

Hope from the Heartland, a new book by Jay Hoffman, the Democratic state representative from Collinsville, starts with the premise that climate change, the energy and economic crises can be solved sim

Books

Books briefly noted

By Corrine Frisch

A compilation of books from Illinois authors and publishers.

Books

Connecting readers and Illinois writers

The Illinois Center for the Book

By Corrine Frisch

Starting in 1984, the Library of Congress’ Center for the Book began to establish affiliate centers in the 50 states. Today, there is a state Center for the Book in all 50 states. The Illinois Center for the Book is located in the Illinois State Library at Second and Capitol Streets.

Books

The famous architect who was never alone

By Roberta Volkmann

In his most recent book, Communities of Frank Lloyd Wright: Taliesin and Beyond, historian Myron Marty strives to define the Frank Lloyd Wright Taliesin Fellowship in the context of other groups Wright worked with and other “intentional communities.” Together with his earlier book, Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin Fellowship (Truman State University Press, 1999), co-authored with his wife, Shirley, Marty presents a comprehensive picture of the unique community organized to create, promote and preserve the values and goals of one man — Frank Lloyd Wright.

Books

Affair in a Chicago heat wave

By Stuart Shiffman

Midway through Beautiful Piece, an entertaining and gritty novel written in the noir style of mysteries, I began to have an eerie feeling. Imagine, if you will, the look on the face of Bill Murray each morning at 6 a.m. when he awakens to the sound of Cher belting out the lyrics to “I got you babe!” Just as the character portrayed by Murray in Groundhog Day, readers of this novel by Joseph Peterson will find themselves in that perpetual cycle, repeating a snapshot moment of life. In Beautiful Piece, that moment is a hot August day during a brutal heat wave in Chicago when Robert, the narrator, meets Lucy at a gas station and begins a torrid affair that serves as the cornerstone event upon which Peterson constructs his debut novel.

Books

Good vibes from the ancient art of Reiki

By Corrine Frisch

“We are all connected.” So begins Gay Stinnett’s lovely new book about her experiences with the ancient art (she calls it the “wondrous gift”) of Reiki (pronounced ray-key). The International Center for Reiki Training defines the practice as “a Japanese technique for stress reduction and relaxation that also promotes healing. It is administered by ‘laying on hands’ and is based on the idea that an unseen ‘life force energy’ flows through us and is what causes us to be alive. . . . The word Reiki is made of two Japanese words — Rei which means ‘God’s Wisdom or the Higher Power’ and Ki which is ‘life force energy.’ So Reiki is actually spiritually guided life force energy.” Reiki practitioners believe, therefore, that if one’s “life force energy” is low, then we are more likely to get sick or feel stress, and if it is high, we are more capable of being happy and healthy.

Books

Photographer, rollin’ on the river

By Jacqueline Jackson

Who wants another coffee table book? Another big picture book to clutter things up? Well — we do, this one. It’s us, guys — where we live and breathe and do our everyday living, in central Illinois — along the Illinois River. In late 2005 David Zalaznik, a photographer for the Peoria Journal-Star, was invited by the Peoria Art Guild to participate in an exhibit about the Illinois River. He set off with his camera, and this stunning volume is the result.

Books

The first First Husband is the president’s private eye

By Jacqueline Jackson

Joseph Flynn, a Springfield writer, is the author of a number of well reviewed novels. In this, his latest thriller, the plot is familiar — the bad guys go after their target by going after the person our hero cares about most. In this case that person also happens to be the first U.S. woman president. The hero, in his case the detective, is her husband. Since he’s the first “first husband,” he has to invent his role. Jim McGill, a former cop, deems it politically unwise to offer his services to the FBI or such like, and so sets up as a private investigator. He soon discovers that this is a political role, too. His wife, a moderate, is in jeopardy from the start because of her unpopular stand against the neo-cons of her party. (He names himself “the president’s henchman.”) His job also endangers his three children, his ex-wife and her husband.

Books

A poetic roller coaster — hold on for the ride

By Thea Chesley

If you haven’t yet read Kevin Stein, there is no better introduction than this collection, which will make you think, feel, contemplate soberly and sometimes laugh out loud.

Books

Behind the bowtie, a politician of uncommon integrity

By Taylor Pensoneau

Paul Simon kindles memories of Frank Capra’s classic 1939 film, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. The fictional drama features Jefferson Smith, a wholesome idealist played by James Stewart. Maintaining uncommon integrity while occupying a seat in the United States Senate, Smith emerges as a lonely voice against the corruption and unbridled cynicism often rampant in American politics.

Culture

Tourist town

Springfield and Illinois hope to increase tourism despite poor economy

By Amanda Robert

Illinois Bureau of Tourism Deputy Director Jan Kostner refuses to dwell on the poor economy and its effect on tourism.In mid-February, as she delivered the annual State of the State of Tourism Address

Culture

Behind the scenes at Shen Yun, a controversial practice: Falun Gong

By Julie Cellini

Promotional flyers for Shen Yun — a multimillion-dollar stage production set for Feb. 9 at Sangamon Auditorium — are lavish, four-color photo montages of elaborately costumed dancers, whir

Culture

Urbana’s grand stage

University of Illinois’ Krannert Center aims to provide a space for all to enjoy the arts

By Marissa Monson

Mike Ross, director of Urbana’s Krannert Centerfor the Performing Arts, is hard-pressed to name his favorite place to be inside the University of Illinois’ celebrated arts space.Ross

Culture

Adults invade Facebook

"I'm trying to get the hang of Facebook, but it's not going well."

By Lori Borgman

I had seven e-mails from an older gentleman who is the president of a highly respected nonprofit asking me to become his friend on Facebook. It was so unnerving I joined Facebook just to make the e-

Culture

To Japan and back

Frank Lloyd Wright’s influence explored in documentary

By Marissa Monson

Untitled Document One need only look at the roof of the Dana-Thomas House, with its upturned corners, to see Japan’s influence on architect Frank Lloyd Wright. ̶

Culture

Hot dogs

Illinois Humane raises funds with motorcycle enthusiasts

By Rachel Curry

Untitled Document Illinois Humane hosts the Hogs for Dogs dice run for the second year in a row on Saturday, June 16. Money raised at the run “goes directly to animal care

Culture

Grin and bear it

A dental mission trip to Jamaica turns into an adventure

By Larry Harnly

Untitled Document Larry Harnly, a retired State Journal-Register sports editor, was part of a group of 32, about half from Springfield, who spent one week in Jamaica on

Culture

Fashionable holiday fizz

Versatility makes sparkling wines a great choice to have on hand

By Patrick W. Fegan

’Tis the season to be toasting, and, according to experts, it’s the perfect time to raise a glass with some sparkle. “The wine is alive,” says Charles Stanfield, sparkling-wine

Culture

Party time, excellent

Wake up to 2007 without a hangover - but wth many happy memories

By Marissa Monson

Untitled Document Don’t get caught stuck to a barstool in lieu of ringing in the new year. The last day of 2006 is a time for changes. Make this year the year you actually remember singing

Culture

From the land of the Gullah

By Tom Irwin

You may only be "haa'dly'kin" (barely able) to understand Anita Singleton-Prather and the Gullah Kinfolk, but you won't want to "tek'e foot een 'e han" (to run, or to leave quickly) once you hear the

Film - Chuck Koplinski

Alice, a wonder to behold, but cold

By Chuck Koplinski

To be sure, there are moments when Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland truly soars. After the title heroine falls down the rabbit hole and becomes engrossed in a trippy world replete with odd creat

Film - Chuck Koplinski

The Crazies: an effective throwback to ’70s horror

By Chuck Koplinski

Once a sub-genre of horror films, the zombie movie has now become so popular you can’t swing a severed limb over your head without hitting one at the multiplex. The genesis of the modern zombie

Film - Chuck Koplinski

Fuqua’s Brooklyn finest film of the new year

By Chuck Koplinski

Director Antoine Fuqua (Training Day) and first-time screenwriter Michael C. Martin pull off an interesting feat with their gripping film Brooklyn’s Finest. They take tired cop film conventions

Film - Chuck Koplinski

Snipes on the comeback trail with Brooklyn’s Finest

By Chuck Koplinski

From looking at actor Wesley Snipes, you’d never be able to tell he was on the last leg of a cross-country trip that took him to one major city a day over a week’s time. After hitting Wash

Film - Chuck Koplinski

Stranded on Scorsese’s Island

By Chuck Koplinski

The degree to which you like Martin Scorsese’s Shutter Island depends upon how much you like to be manipulated. If you’re looking for the sort of movie that pulls the rug right out from un

Film - Chuck Koplinski

The Wolfman returns, a fresh take on a classic

By Chuck Koplinski

The initial reviews for Joe Johnston’s The Wolfman have been mixed at best and it’s easy to see why. Its opening moves far too fast, one of its key actors phones in his performance and its

Film - Chuck Koplinski

Firth gives a singular performance in Ford’s Man

By Chuck Koplinski

When designer Tom Ford was charged with pulling Gucci back from the brink of bankruptcy, he wasted no time reintroducing a sense of style and daring to the venerable fashion line. So, it should come a

Film - Chuck Koplinski

Bridges takes center stage in Crazy Heart

By Chuck Koplinski

Country singer Bad Blake has given up trying to deal with all of the disappointments in his life. You can tell by the way he carries himself, what with his unkempt hair and dirty clothes. But it’

Film - Chuck Koplinski

With Rome it’s the same old song and dance

By Chuck Koplinski

If I’ve been experiencing anything at the movies lately, it’s a sense of déjŕ vu. If I’m not sitting through another apocalyptic thriller then I’m suffering through a by

Film - Chuck Koplinski

Extraordinary Measures, a genuine story of hope

By Chuck Koplinski

Based on the book The Cure by Geeta Anand, Extraordinary Measures is an earnest account of how one family attempts to cope with every parent’s worst nightmare. John and Eileen Crowley’s ch

Film Fest Interviews

Chuck Koplinski interviews Doug Jones and Katlyn Carlson

By Courtney Enlow

Illinois Times film critic Chuck Koplinski interviews Doug Jones ("Hellboy", "Pan's Labyrinth") and Katlyn Carlson, stars of the indie feature "My Name is Jerry", winner of Best Comedy Feature at the Route 66 International Film Festival.

Film Fest Interviews

Chuck Koplinski interviews Oscar Piloto and Alfonso Corona

By Courtney Enlow

IT film critic Chuck Koplinski interviews star Oscar Piloto and director Alfonso Corona (both are co-producers) of the short film "Dixon's Girl".

Film Fest Interviews

Chuck Koplinski interviews director Sam Holdren

By Courtney Enlow

Illinois Times film critic Chuck Koplinski interviews Sam Holdren, director of the film "The Paradigm Shift", playing in the Route 66 International Film Festival.

Film Fest Interviews

Chuck Koplinski interviews Brian Dobrik

By Courtney Enlow

IT film critic Chuck Koplinski interviews Brian Dobrik, director of the indie short "Robert Shaw", playing in the Route 66 International Film Festival.

Film Fest Interviews

Chuck Koplinski interviews director Daric Gates

By Courtney Enlow

Illinois Times film critic Chuck Koplinski interviews Daric Gates, director of the film "Crook", winner for Best Thriller in the Route 66 International Film Festival.

Film Fest Interviews

Chuck Koplinski interviews Dominique Schilling

By Courtney Enlow

Illinois Times film critic Chuck Koplinski interviews Dominique Schilling, director of the film "Business As Usual", playing in the Route 66 International Film Festival.

Film Fest Interviews

Chuck Koplinski interviews Zach Baliva and Morgan Mead

By Courtney Enlow

Illinois Times film critic Chuck Koplinski interviews Morgan Mead, director, and Zach Baliva, co-producer, of the film "My Name Is Jerry", winner for Best Comedy in the Route 66 International Film Festival.

Film Fest Interviews

Chuck Koplinski interviews directors and star of Sinnerman

By Courtney Enlow

Illinois Times film critic Chuck Koplinski interviews Travis Pittman and Kelly Daniela Norris, co-directors, and Matthew Cadet, star of the film "Sinnerman", playing in the Route 66 International Film Festival.

Film Fest Interviews

Chuck Koplinski interviews Lynelle White

By Courtney Enlow

Illinois Times film critic Chuck Koplinski interviews Lynelle White, director of the film "And Seven Hours Later", playing in the Route 66 International Film Festival.

IT Picks

Starry stroll

By Anita Stienstra

Star gazers and animal enthusiasts get two for the price of free at Lincoln Memorial Garden March 12. Trek the trails with two UIS science professors and learn about the night sky and night animals. D

IT Picks

Downtown addition

By Anita Stienstra

Prairie Art Alliance has a new downtown gallery, Gallery II, located in the old Serendipity shop across from Maldaner’s. The opening day will be March 15. If you’ve seen the original galle

IT Picks

Amazing collectables

By Anita Stienstra

Families can learn all about collections -- how to start a collection and how to keep it in great shape – and explore the collections of Springfield area kids and teens March 13 from 1-3 p.m. at

IT Picks

Green scene

By Anita Stienstra

Don’t get pinched. Put on your green attire and march out to downtown Springfield where the Paddy’s Day parade kicks off at noon. The procession of floats, walking units and bands makes it

IT Picks

Statewide goods

By Anita Stienstra

The Illinois Products Expo is a great way to discover and sample the goods of some of our local and regional producers. More than 70 Illinois food companies, and a few non-food companies, will exhibit

IT Picks

Twin city urbanscapes

By Anita Stienstra

New striking images of Minneapolis and St. Paul by Midwestern photographers Chris Faust and Michael A. Shapiro will be on display at the SAA Gallery of Art. Faust’s photographs, popular with col

IT Picks

Altering environments

By Anita Stienstra

Dr. Eric Grimm, Illinois State Museum botany chair, presents a free lecture, “Global Warming: Past, Present, and Future -- Why Florida Should Care about Greenland.” His talk examines major

IT Picks

Buffy-like Lincoln

By Anita Stienstra

Best-selling author Seth Grahame-Smith appears at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum Union Theater as one of the first stops on the release tour for his new book, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.

IT Picks

Diehard love

By Anita Stienstra

Award-winning Guthrie Theater and The Acting Company join together for a national tour with a co-production of Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy of innocent young lovers who fall victim to family h

IT Picks

Impersonation farce

By Anita Stienstra

Over the Moon Productions presents a play reading of Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night on Feb. 27 in downtown Springfield. The romantic comedy is all about mistaken identity, as the shipwrecked Viola

Movie Blurbs

Green Zone

By Movie blurbs

Matt Damon and director Paul Greengrass (The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, United 93) re-team for their latest electrifying thriller in "Green Zone," a filmset in the chaotic early

Movie Blurbs

Our Family Wedding

By Movie blurbs

"Our marriage, their wedding." It's lesson number one for any newly engaged couple, and Lucia (America Ferrera) and Marcus (Lance Gross) are no exception. In Fox Searchlight Pictures' 'Ou

Movie Blurbs

Remember Me

By Movie blurbs

In the romantic drama Remember Me, Robert Pattinson plays Tyler, a rebellious young man in New York City who has a strained relationship with his father (Pierce Brosnan) ever since tragedy separated t

Movie Blurbs

She’s Out Of My League

By Movie blurbs

An airport security guard gets involved with a girl who's very obviously of a higher caliber than himself, and schemes to make the relationship last as his friends and family watch along in disbelief

Movie Blurbs

Alice in Wonderland

By Movie blurbs

From Walt Disney Pictures and visionary director Tim Burton comes an epic 3D fantasy adventure "Alice in Wonderland," a magical and imaginative twist on some of the most beloved stories of a

Movie Blurbs

Brooklyn’s Finest

By Movie blurbs

In the course of one chaotic week, the lives of three conflicted New York police officers are dramatically transformed by their involvement in a massive drug operation in Brooklyn's Finest, a searing

Movie Blurbs

Cop Out

By Movie blurbs

Two longtime NYPD partners on the trail of a stolen, rare, mint-condition baseball card find themselves up against a merciless, memorabilia-obsessed gangster. Jimmy (Bruce Willis) is the veteran detec

Movie Blurbs

The Crazies

By Movie blurbs

In a terrifying tale of the "American Dream" gone wrong, four friends find themselves trapped in their hometown in "The Crazies," a reinvention of the George Romero classic. David

Movie Blurbs

Shutter Island

By Movie blurbs

The film, based on the novel "Shutter Island" by Dennis Lehane, is an atmospheric psychological thriller set in a 1950s asylum for the criminally insane. It's 1954, and up-and-coming U.S. m

Movie Blurbs

Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief

By Movie blurbs

It's the 21st century, but the gods of Mount Olympus and assorted monsters have walked out of the pages of high school student Percy Jackson's Greek mythology texts and into his life. And they're n

Movies

Reel foreign

Seven international films screen in Springfield

By Zach Baliva

Springfield area cinephiles benefit as the Route 66 Film Festival and the Springfield Art Association’s Film Series grow in size and quality. The 2009 Route 66 Fest, held last September, tripled

Movies

An independent obsession

The behind-the-scenes process that brings foreign and indie films to town

By Zach Baliva

Molly Schlich knows movies. She has organized the Springfield Art Association’s annual film festival for the past 18 years. The event, she says, was started not as a fundraiser, but as a way to

Movies

Q&A with Goodbye Solo director Ramin Bahrani

By Zach Baliva

2009 was a good year for director Ramin Bahrani. The 34-year-old was awarded a prestigious Guggenheim Fellowship and watched as critics continued to laud Chop Shop (2007) and Goodbye Solo (2008). Not

Movies

2009 FESTIVAL SCHEDULE

WED, SEPT 16Taste of the Festival7-9pmFREE Open to the publicCapital City Bar and Grill3149 S. Dirksen PkwyFor those not familiar with film fests, this evening event will include a preview of 5-6 of t

Movies

Terrible teens

They’ve met the enemy – and it’s them

By Marc Sigoloff

Untitled Document Many recent films about troubled youth remind me of Jean-Paul Sartre’s play No Exit, in which hell is other people. The biggest problem facing teens today

Movies

Fab Four on film

The Beatles left an incredible screen legacy

By Marc Sigoloff

Untitled Document Forty years ago the Beatles changed music for the second time with the release of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, and it still tops lists as

Movies

Mr. Costner

A reliable presence, even when he defies expectations

By Marc Sigoloff

Untitled Document Kevin Costner needs no introduction, but he seems to need a reintroduction. Audiences mistakenly think that they know what to expect from him. His taking on the

Movies

Hurricane Billy is back

Bug marks William Friedkin’s return to form

By Marc Sigoloff

Untitled Document Bug may have been drowned in the current flood of sequels, but it has great cinematic significance. The intense psychological-horror thriller marks the return t

Movies

The cult of Jodorowsky

Mexican director’s influence goes beyond his name recognition

By Marc Sigoloff

Untitled Document His is hardly a household name, but the influence of Alejandro Jodorowsky goes beyond name recognition. His best-known film is El Topo (1970), which translates

Movies

All is Welles

The greatest Orson Welles film he didn’t direct

By Marc Sigoloff

Untitled Document The Third Man (1949) is the greatest Orson Welles movie Welles didn’t direct. It is a testament to the greatness of this film that many people assume that

Music

Urban music radio comes to Springfield online

By Jolonda Young

It began with a childhood dream of becoming a radio personality. But when Angel Macon sent demos to countless area radio stations, none responded. Instead of idly waiting for that big break, Macon too

Music

REO Speedwagon rolls home

Central Illinois’ classic rock favorite sons perform here Feb. 25

By Scott Faingold

“When I look down the tour itinerary and see towns like Springfield and Champaign, the word that immediately comes to mind is ‘home,” says REO Speedwagon’s lead singer Kevin Cr

Music

Springfield Choral Society sings for peace

Weekend concert also honors service members

By Amanda Robert

Marion van der Loo was already thinking about Christmas back in June.As the music director of the Springfield Choral Society listened to “Jul, Jul, Strlande Jul,” a song from Sweden that

Music

Buddy Holly tour was scheduled for Springfield “The Day the Music Died”

By Gregory Harutunian

The musicians of the “Winter Dance Party 1959” played Kenosha, Wis., on Jan. 24 of that year, one of the few stops on an ill-fated sojourn which ended for Buddy Holly in an Io

Music

Music ‘repairing the world’

Rick Recht comes to Springfield to “Tear Down the Walls”

By Patrice Worthy

Love your neighbor as you love yourself. It’s a commandment familiar to both Jews and Christians, but it takes a person of strong faith to both talk the talk and walk the walk. Ri

Music

Fall concerts

Here’s who’s coming to bring you music

By Marissa Monson

The fall season is upon us, and for bands across the country it's the perfect time to tour. Hopping in the bus — musicians from David Crosby and Graham Nash to Ta

Music

The symphony season

For butterfly lovers and Lincoln buffs

By Patrice Worthy

The upcoming season upholds the standard of excellence the Illinois Symphony Orchestra has made a Springfield tradition. One of ISO's most popular events is the Pops in t

Music

ICBC Annual Blues Challenge

The Illinois Central Blues Club formed in 1986 and since then the group has hosted more than 42,000 musicians and 1500 live performances. Each week the club hosts blues artists from across t

Music

Smorgasbord of sound

Folks Songs of Illinois provides an excellent introduction to many kinds of music

By Todd Volker

Untitled Document It’s 1927, the Jazz Age, with poet Carl Sandburg toting a funny little guitar and strumming carelessly to the old tunes: “Whisky Johnny&

Music

The feminine mystique

Gore Gore Girls got gams and Gretsches!

By René Spencer Saller

Untitled Document Gretsches and gams, gams and Gretsches. That’s the Gore Gore Girls’ bag, and if it’s not yours, well, you can’t say you weren’t wa

Music - Tom Irwin

March marches on

By Tom Irwin

Here comes the middle of March with the most famous Ides of all, St. Patrick’s Day celebrations and other assorted diversions, the best of all being a feeling of spring in the air. As an astute

Music - Tom Irwin

Guitar town news and blues

By Tom Irwin

Just when you thought it was safe to stay at home, look at the long list of hopped-up happenings this week. Then next weekend everyone goes green for the St. Patrick’s Day festivities and the ce

Music - Tom Irwin

February flurry of fun

By Tom Irwin

For heaven’s sake, the shows just won’t stop in Springfield or perhaps we should say, they keep stopping by. From the looks of the upcoming weekend calendar as we pass on through February,

Music - Tom Irwin

Fabulous February finds

By Tom Irwin

Better lick your wounds from last week’s Mardi Gras spectacular and spruce up for another superb weekend of live music in the capital city. The nightlife is jampacked with more stuff than you co

Music - Tom Irwin

Mardi Gras and all

By Tom Irwin

Slowly but surely the whoop-it-up holiday known around the world as Carnival season has taken hold in Springfield. Just a few years ago some hardy souls around town were determined to make a local ann

Music - Tom Irwin

Festive February fodder

By Tom Irwin

Somehow during the global conference on holiday scheduling meeting many millenniums ago, someone must have felt sorry for shorting February in the number of days and made up for it by overloading on t

Music - Tom Irwin

Bottle Rockets get fired up

By Tom Irwin

During the mid-90s The Bottle Rockets ruled the roost as a thought-provoking, hard rocking, Midwestern, alt-country band in the middle of a roots rock revolution centered in St. Louis. Later in the de

Music - Tom Irwin

Ragged Jack rolls on

By Tom Irwin

When Lyman Ellerman sings “life is a wheel, let it roll, let it roll, let it roll,” you know he means it in his heart and soul. The song is the title track from a new CD recorded in Nashvi

Music - Tom Irwin

Terry’s take on the top ten

By Tom Irwin

Prior to taking off on an adventure somewhere this week, I needed a Now Playing idea before I left. Lo and behold, Terry Hupp,  one of my best friends ever, delivered a review of what he says are

Music - Tom Irwin

Becoming Elvis

By Tom Irwin

The person, or perhaps more correctly, the personality of Elvis Presley permeates our entertainment culture from all directions. His influence spans generations and runs the gamut from the ridiculous

Performing Art

Expressions in the Dark goes red

Springfield embraces artists of the spoken word

By Jolonda Young

In a city largely absent of activities and events related to African American culture, Springfield’s black residents have long suffered from the “there’s-nothing-to-do syndrome.&rdqu

Performing Art

A spectacle of Chinese history and culture

Shen Yun, mixing art and politics, comes to Sangamon Auditorium

By Julie Cellini

Five thousand years of Chinese performing arts and culture will take the stage Feb. 9 at Sangamon Auditorium in a multimillion-dollar touring production called Shen Yun (“divine character”

Performing Art

First Night 2009

By Courtney Enlow

Ringing in the new year doesn’t need to be an adults-only party. Instead, welcome 2010 with a celebration of family-friendly arts, music and theater at the 23rd annual First Night. This year&rsq

Performing Art

This Life Ain’t Pretty

Locally produced short film debuts at UIS

By Zach Baliva

Statistics are often hard to remember. We might forget that 1.1 million Americans are living with HIV/AIDS or that the global total is more than 30 million. We might not know that 25 percent of them d

Performing Art

Hoogland Center’s second act

Success leads to space and money woes

By Patrick Yeagle

Nestled in the basement between thick square support pillars, the young musicians eagerly consume sheet after sheet of music, building a crescendo with violins, timpani and horns. Three floors up, a g

Performing Art

Everybody’s weird at The Rocky Horror Show

By Zach Baliva

I admit that I watched The Rocky Horror Picture Show a few times growing up, mostly to learn the dance steps to the Time Warp to fit in at the high school Halloween Dance…

Performing Art

College sowing seeds for a local slam poetry movement

By Matthew Schroyer

Local youths may be familiar with the confrontation and spectacle of mainstream hip hop, where the words flow effortlessly with messages of violence, money and sex. Less familiar is a close cousin, slam poetry, which also has smooth lyrical moves, but uses them to deliver appeals to social justice, racial understanding and cultural identity.

Performing Art

Muni’s Fiddler another solid production

By Zach Baliva

For fans of live theater in Springfield, attending The Muni’s new production of Fiddler on the Roof is a bit like seeing the James Bond movie Casino Royale — we’ve heard t

Performing Art

Oliver! overcomes slow start

Talented cast and crew get Muni season underway

By Zach Baliva

Cast members from the organization’s three upcoming shows cheered wildly as Muni President Flynn Hanners mentioned them in his opening night remarks last Friday. As Hanners spoke, th

Performing Art

The new play at the Presidential Museum

One Destiny takes place at Ford’s Theatre, a week after Lincoln died

By Rick Wade

Two actors. No set. Multiple characters, none of whom can be the killer or victim. Wrap it up in no more than 45 minutes. Audience? Everybody age 7 to 70 and beyond. Those were

Poetry

demopoem # 1

By Jacqueline Jackson

with all the interest in the filmjulie and julia and also localcooking schools let me tell you astory about my springfield friendtom(doc)durr he was attendingthe culinary institute of americawhen juli

Poetry

aroundthecosmos poem #6

By Ethan Whelpley

by Ethan Whelpley, 8infinity meansthat you give upeven thoughyou knowthere’s more

Poetry

Out of darkness come Needles of Light

By Lola Lucas

Needles of Light doesn’t claim to be an easy book to read. “Many of these poems are dark, darker than the reader will be comfortable with; but I believe the path to light must include ackn

Poetry

publiclibrary jumprope rhyme #1

By Jacqueline Jackson

city city count the cost how many book folk have we lost?one—two—three—four—no one reads any morefive—six—seven—eight—let us set the record straightnine

Poetry

Green

By Jacqueline Jackson

“Green,” a lyric adapted from The Endless Pavement musicaldo you believe       in green grasses and trees?well I do, well I dodo you believe   

Poetry

lovepoem #7

By Jacqueline Jackson

I long to be back with pam hiking  the cornwall coast the waves far below  curling then crashing but there’s no pamto hike with anymore I long to be backwith jessie amid the bluebells

Poetry

great autos’ chant from the endless pavement musical

By Jacqueline Jackson

rockin’ rollin’ down the pavementrockin’ rollin’ down the pavementlisten to the great computermobilelisten to the great computermobilecan’t  — stop —&nbs

Poetry

technokids poem #2

By Jacqueline Jackson

wyatt, seven, sequestered(by choice) in the large closetunder the front stairscell-phones his motherfour times with differentinstructions on how he wantshis sandwich prepared thenphones the kitchen ag

Poetry

newyear’s evepoem #1

By Jacqueline Jackson

it’s new years eve it’sfrigid clear and there’sa blue moon I have seenblue moons before andexpect to see a numbermore but I will probablynot live long enough tosee another blue moono

Poetry

l’envoi: poem for carol 

By Jacqueline Jackson

our loved friend carol manleytwo days before her sudden deathemailed me about the poems inillinois times she wrote do youneed material maybe you cando something with this from zay:“the girls wer

Sports

The final round

A Springfield boxing legend remembered

By Patrick Yeagle

On a warm October day at the Harriet Tubman Susan B. Anthony Center on Springfield’s east side, 30 to 40 young men and boys dressed in gym clothes amble into a narrow room that seems to double a

Sports

What could be finer than pigskin and suds?

By Tom Irwin

You may never have heard of the Capital City Outlaws, Springfield's very own semipro football team, but they're making lots of noise in the Original Midwest Football League. They placed second last ye

Sports

Skating club celebrates the holidays on, um, ice

For almost a decade, the Springfield Figure Skating Club has been ringing in the holidays with an evening of skating set to seasonal songs. Skaters of all ages and skill levels don their best Christma

Sports

Blue Birds

Cards lick their wounds as the hated Cubs advance

By D. J. Wilson

From the left field bleachers to the press box, from to the clubhouse to the front office, the refrain is repeated as if rehearsed: The Cardinals didn't make the playoffs this year because of nagging

Visual Art

Alaska visits Springfield in photos and artifacts

The work of Robert Glenn Ketchum at the Illinois State Museum

By Ginny Lee

The eminent nature photographer Robert Glenn Ketchum has been photographing the Alaskan landscape for nearly 40 years and has become one of the most foremost photographers championing the environment.

Visual Art

Exhibition: Inspired photographs of poverty and hope in Africa

By Lyndsey Taylor

Seen through a camera lens is a world of extremes.Extreme poverty, disease and death. And then there’s the love, hope and courage it takes to remedy them.These are displayed through the images o

Visual Art

Bob Waldmire’s farewell tour

The artist and his love affair with the Mother Road

By William Crook Jr.

Last month Bob Waldmire made public what he has known for some time – that he has colon cancer and he probably won’t live much longer. Last Sunday, Nov. 22, “Bob’s Last Art Sho

Visual Art

Springfield’s universities co-host Russian artist’s American debut

By Matthew Schroyer

In 1988, Sergei Chepik, a 35-year-old Russian, arrived in Paris, France, carrying only a canvas, his father’s easel and a painting banned from exhibitions in his homeland. A sign of things to co

Visual Art

Creativity rules at the new gallery downtown

By Lyndsey Taylor

After a 24-year dream of opening his own gallery, Norman Calmese is now the owner of Springfield’s newest treasure of the art world. He is also a musician, playwright, artist and teacher.Minor&r

Visual Art

Tearing away the medical mask

Scope, the 2009 SIU School of Medicine literary magazine

By Anita Stienstra

Reading Scope, the 16th annual literary magazine of Southern Illinois University School of Medicine, uncovered a more human side to the health care system than that to which I have become accustomed.

Visual Art

A show of haunting beauty

The complex “Deviations”%u2008of Felicia Olin

By Lyndsey Taylor

Being sedated in a darkness that is so disturbing and beautiful that it makes the viewer comatose is a unique experience. Welcome to the complex mind of Felicia Olin. Her creations

Visual Art

‘Power and Glory’ from China

St. Louis museum to display art from the Ming dynasty

By Zach Baliva

Beginning Feb. 22, people from across the nation will head to St. Louis for a chance to see a backgammon board. The gilded board, from Beijing’s Palace Museum,

Visual Art

Springfield is stepping up

Dance contests bring old school and new school together

By Patrice Worthy

In Detroit, it’s called the social. In Dallas, it’s called the swing. But in the Land of Lincoln, it’s called stepping. From 9 p.m.-3 a.m. on Nov. 22 at the American Legion #809, 18

Visual Art

Finding Fogel

Millikin exhibit awakens interest in works of visionary artist

By Celeste Huttes

Finding Fogel It is an event Seymour Fogel himself most likely would have shunned. In fact, the artist would probably be better known today were it not for his intense independence and passionatel