Music | Wednesday, April 19,2006

Vinyl Static

Ice-T tears up Club 217 on Saturday; also Abstract Giants and Josh Ritter’s latest

SHOWS-A-GO-GO! The band is big, and the sound is bigger — if only the Abstract Giants could get a break. The eight-member Chicago-based hip-hop band is well known around Chicago&#

Music | Thursday, April 13,2006

Vinyl Static

Sufjan Stevens is back with more Illinoise — and this time Springfield doesn't get the shaft

By Marissa Monson

CD EXCHANGE: You weren’t the only disgruntled Springfield inhabitant who tore the shrink wrap off Illinois, Sufjan Stevens’ ode to the Land of Lincoln, only to find that the sole

Music | Thursday, April 6,2006

Music notes

Boss Martians, the Coup, and notable new releases

By Marissa Monson

SHOWS A-GO-GO! You will like the Boss Martians, because Steven Van Zandt likes the Boss Martians. The Seattle foursome won the coveted “Coolest Song of the Year” on Little Steven

Visual Art | Thursday, February 23,2006

Choice art

Planned Parenthood offers quality gallery art for the biannual live auction

By Marissa Monson

New York art doesn’t pop up in Springfield too often, but thanks to a biannual fundraiser hosted by Planned Parenthood Springfield, locals get a chance to see and buy a range of works

Performing Art | Thursday, February 23,2006

A kiss is still a kiss

Theatreworks stages the comedic and unsettling drama Stop Kiss

By Marissa Monson

Don’t call Diana Son’s 1998 play Stop Kiss a political piece. It’s a love story. The first time Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson, assistant professor of theater at Illinoi

Feature | Thursday, January 26,2006

Growing underground

Springfield’s second generation continues to rock for the kids

By Marissa Monson

To roll down MacArthur Boulevard toward the lively interchange of Wabash and Stanford avenues is to forget that Wabash Curve ever existed. The four-lane intersection offers a

Film - Chuck Koplinski | Thursday, January 12,2006

Taking action

Local film buff fills the indie niche with a festival

By Marissa Monson

Molly Schlich frequently travels from her home in Springfield to theaters in Champaign, Decatur, and St. Louis to see independent films. But for the next few months Schlich w

Visual Art | Thursday, December 8,2005

Shaping trash into treasure

Oak Terrace resident makes merry with discarded jewelry

By Marissa Monson

One person’s trash is another’s treasure, and Dick Oglesby, 76, has taken the old saying to heart by creating a holiday display consisting of old jewelry donated

Visual Art | Wednesday, November 16,2005

Decking the Hall

SAA opens its inaugural Holiday Hall Exhibition and Sale this weekend

By Marissa Monson

The Springfield Art Association opens its inaugural Holiday Hall Exhibition and Sale this weekend. The event marks a departure from the themes of past holiday exhibitions in favor of a fine-

Feature | Thursday, November 3,2005

Bringing the word

How Expressions in the Dark became one of Springfield’s most successful artistic efforts, and a place for a city to come together

By Marissa Monson

The dimly lit performance hall pulses with a quiet beat. Men and women wearing their best “I just can’t help looking cool” attire make their way around