Arts & Culture

Pitchfork TV and revered Seattle-based record label Light In The Attic (Last Poets, Lee Hazelwood, Jane Birkin, Black Angels, etc.) are in the midst of filming a 6 video road trip series that focuses on record stores between New York and Chicago. This documentary is set to hit Columbus on Saturday, October 19th with visits to Lost Weekend, RPM, Spoonful and Used Kids Records. P4K and Light In the Attic’s visit comes on the heels of Used Kids Records 27th Anniversary, which was Saturday October 12th. This celebration of the Columbus music institution had performances by the Redbuds, Nom Tchotchke, Headtaker, Bloody Show, Second State Butchers, Dead Girlfriends, Pink Reason, The Ferals, and Nervosas. I took the time before The Ferals performance to peruse and appreciate Used Kids’ eclectic and unique selection. You had new releases by the Connections, Danny Brown, Boldy James, the Raspberry Bulbs and RJD2. There were a plethora of used rock n roll vinyl recordings ranging from the obscure to classics from the Cramps and Led Zeppelin. Used Kids has a huge selection of soul and jazz records for beat diggers or just for people who just like to listen to soul and jazz.

Pokemon has been a mainstay for Nintendo's handheld video game systems since its 1996 Japanese debut. It may be single-handedly responsible for the company's domination of the handheld market against challenges from Sony throughout the last decade. For every new iteration of their portable consoles, from the Game Boy series to the newer DS series, they've always brought a Pokemon game (though never at launch). So it was inevitable that Nintendo would release a Pokemon game for their newest handheld system, the 3DS. Pokemon games are always released in pairs, and the latest iterations, X & Y, were notably released on the same day worldwide, a first for the Japanese-created series. Now that it's finally been released, does it live up to the legacy? The popularity of the turn-based role playing game series owes a lot to its broad appeal. The monsters you collect in-game to do battle for you are mostly colorful and cartoonish, easily translated into anime movies and plush toys.

It's rare to hear something nerdy and not have it be an insulting joke or at best a great parody. Austin Texas resident Damp Heat shatters the artifacts of old with his 18 track hip-hop album “The Lich.” The concept album recounts a fairly standard tale of a Dungeons and Dragons adventure from first meeting to final confrontation. Listening to tracks on this album, which came highly recommended by my old Dungeon Master, one of the team at clawclawbite.com, it is clear this artist both loves and plays his D&D. Much D&D related media, even by players, is parody. The parody pandemic is so pervasive I can no longer cast magic missile without using “that” voice. If you play you know which one. Much nerd parody in media is fun, and full of inside jokes, but most of us don't live the life portrayed in Weird Al's “White and Nerdy.” The Album begins with a joyous party track called Tavern. The track is fun and upbeat. It also has multiple voices raping from a first person perspective and they sound the way a group of adventurers would if adventurers meeting in a Tavern and embarking on a perilous quest actually rapped.

Despite all the awards it’s won, Sunday in the Park With George received both praise and brickbats when it opened on Broadway in 1984. One complaint was that the second act was an inferior and unnecessary addition to its predecessor. After seeing the Stephen Sondheim work for the second time, I’ve come to the opposite conclusion: I find the musical a satisfying experience precisely because Act 2 completes the emotional and artistic journey that began with the sometimes cold and unfocused Act 1. “The art of making art,” as Sondheim declares in one of the show’s best-known songs, “is putting it together.” With a book by James Lapine, who directed the Broadway premiere, the musical is a fictionalized account of French painter Georges Seurat’s creation of A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte in 1884. In Act 1, Georges (Matt Clemens) is so intent on finishing his pointillistic masterpiece that he neglects his lover and model, Dot (Laura Griffith). Around them, various characters observe Georges and are sometimes observed by him as he sketches figures he plans to incorporate into the painting.

Although I am an adoptee rights activist I seldom read adoption books outside of topics I have a specific interest in. I almost always avoid memoirs. To be honest, most are awful. It may be good therapy to write your adoption story, but please leave it in your desk drawer! Michael Allen Potter's The Last Invisible Continent: Essays on Adoption and Identity is quite a different story. I've been familiar with Mike's work for several years. I knew this book (currently on Kindle) would be important. Unlike the typical weepy adoption memoir this one is hard and gritty. It's of the street, but also of the heart. Mike doesn't pull any punches about his mother's mental illness, his battle with alcohol, or his rotten adoption, which he discusses almost in passing, though it it obviously the core of his essays. He calls his work "brutal yet equatable.” In "The Re-education of Michael Potter," he recounts his rescue of his mentality ill birth mother from the crack house she's been tossed into when rockhead neighbors decide to forcibly switch their dump for her government funded apartment—and charge her exorbitant rent for their dump to boot.

While I have never encountered any staff there in an angry state, I have definitely discovered delicious, healthy and satiating vegan breakfast, lunch and even, sweet, baked options. I’m positively impressed with their rich and decadent chocolate brownie with a blueberry base (replacing eggs) a great cholesterol lowering maneuver without any compromise in taste. The Angry Baker does a delectable job of making vegan options available for those who want to refrain from consuming more than their fair share of earth’s precious resources and desire to make a serious attempt at loving all of our fellow earthlings, even in their food choices (they occasionally offer some gluten-free options if you call ahead, they will work with you). They cover several concerns of the socially just diner, such as; vegan options and attaining locally produced foods, but not all. Although they make everything from scratch, presently they use conventional ingredients, which means they could be GMO, are not necessarily organic, and operations are that of conventional business models. The Angry Baker is located in Old Town East at 891 Oak St. Columbus, OH 43205.

If last year’s film version didn’t convince you that Les Miserables belongs on the stage, maybe Otterbein will. Sure, the film was beautiful, and yes, Anne Hathaway was magnificent as Fantine. But after she took her leave, the rest seemed anti-climactic. On the Otterbein stage, though, director Dennis Romer and his cast rediscover the heart that’s needed to make the Alain Boublil/Claude-Michel Schonberg musical touch us all over again. Meanwhile, the music soars thanks to a slew of good singers and a full-sized orchestra performing under Lori Kay Harvey’s sensitive baton. Set before and during France’s June Rebellion of 1832, Les Miz begins just as Jean Valjean (Jordan Donica) is being released after serving 19 years on a chain gang for stealing a loaf of bread. But he’s not completely free, as he soon discovers his status as an ex-con prevents him from finding work. Valjean retaliates by stealing from a bishop (John Henry Carter) who shows him kindness.

Connections are set to release their second album “Body Language” on storied Columbus imprint Anyway Records. The formality of writing about Connections calls to mind that band members Kevin Elliott and Andy Hampel were in 84 Nash. Kevin’s brother Adam is in Times New Viking. Dave Capaldi was in El Jesus De Magico. Philip Kim is the slightly younger member who connects them to a different generation of Columbus indie rock people. Because of the band's line-ups legacy in Ohio music, the second formality is to mention they are influenced by Guided By Voices (GVB). As I sat listening to garage pop tales of ordinary Ohioans on “Aimless,” “Jeni & Johnny,” and “Girl’s Night Out.” It dawned on me three members grew up in Congressional District 8 (John Boehner’s district) before moving to Columbus. Because of Boehner's part in causing our current government shutdown, I facebooked Kevin Elliott, and here is where this review turns into an an interview: WF: Hey, Kevin. Reviewing the record. I know the album isn’t political but just remembered you grew up in John Boehner’s district.

“A friendly desert community where the sun is hot, the moon is beautiful, and mysterious lights pass overhead while we all pretend to sleep. Welcome to Night Vale.” The Welcome to Night Vale podcast is like A Prairie Home Companion from a place where every supernatural theory and government conspiracy is horribly and yet mundanely real. The podcast, unusual for being a dramatic fictional production rather than just a couple people conversing into recording software, is done in the format of a radio show: From Night Vale Community Radio, our host Cecil gives the sort of general news and community information you'd hear on any little talk radio station in small-town America. But it's clear right from the beginning that something is horribly wrong in this little desert town. Cecil tells us in his matter-of-fact way about the new dog park that's opened in town, which is populated by “hooded figures” and no one is to enter or even speak of it under any circumstances. There's a man named Hiram McDaniels who is wanted by the Sheriff’s Secret Police on suspicion of insurance fraud. Wait, did I say man? I mean five-headed dragon. And it looks like he wants to run for mayor!