By Harlee Ludwig

Written by Daniel Kessler ’12 and directed by Michael Cunningham ’14, Hypnosis for Salesmen completed a five show run at the Little Theater. Though the acting was above par, the story line was hard to follow, which gave the impression that the plot was not really thought through. Continue reading →

By James Kuntz

One by one, hooded figures emerged out of the darkness of Wilder Bowl, descended the concrete staircase that was still slick from the morning rain, and ambled towards eight raised concrete blocks beneath the ramp of Mudd Library. They each climbed a separate block, removed their backpacks and coats, faced one another, and waited.  If you didn’t know it, you would not suspect they were members of the same group, or even attending a pre-organized event. Until someone started rhyming.  Continue reading →

By Harlee Ludwig

The nearly three hour-long play “Topgdog/Underdog” completed a five show run at the Little Theater this weekend. The show, written by Suzan-Lori Parks and directed by Associate Professor of Theater and African American Studies Caroline Jackson Smith, tackled the controversial themes of brotherhood, racism, broken homes, and fear of the future.  Continue reading →

Photo by Harlee Ludwig.

By Harlee Ludwig

When the intro to “Traces” started playing it took no time for the crowd to start dancing. Built to Spill, a rock band based in Idaho, played a sold out show at the ‘Sco that incited moshing and crowd surfing. Continue reading →

By Gabe Kanengiser

The folk duo Nervous But Excited played an intimate concert at the Cat in the Cream as one stop on their CD release tour for their new album, You Are Here. The Cat is one of the best-suited venues for NBE, whose music is calm, comforting, and hugely popular amongst Oberlin students. Continue reading →

By Gabe Kanengiser

The unfortunate dilemma in listening to the new Wilco album, The Whole Love, is that one must first confront the fact that its predecessor, Wilco (The Album) was an immense disappointment. However, after just one track of the new release, the truth about Wilco becomes clear: the band’s 2009 album was a self-indulgent and media-pleasing collection of works, lacking coherence as an album, and sub-par to all of Wilco’s prior albums. Continue reading →

By Gabe Kanengiser

Last week, James Blake gave the world an EP to endlessly ponder. Six more tracks of pure musical integrity; twenty-five minutes and thirty seconds of assurance that the direction of music is heading the right way. Continue reading →

By Aria Dean

Photo by Paris Gravley.

The crowd at the ‘Sco was unusually hushed as Grouper took the stage on Saturday. Grouper – despite the name, which might suggest otherwise – is a one-woman act, the solo project of Portland native Liz Harris. Continue reading →

By Alice Beecher

In today’s literary universe, the distinction between narrative and poetry is blurry at best. Last week at the FAVA gallery, Sylvia Watanabe hosted a reading with two renowned poets—Christine Gelaneau and Lee Upton—with the aim of examining the ways in which poetry permeates narrative and narrative permeates poetry. Seated amongst gorgeous paintings and tapestries, the gallery provided the audience with an apt setting to contemplate the integration of art forms. Continue reading →