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By Monica Feltz with Alex Pacheco

Pop Correspondents

BOSTON — The tent lights faded as throngs of decked-out Pretty Lights fans flocked to their seats at the Bank of America Pavilion, glow sticks in one hand, beer in the other.

“This reminds me of when he came out at Bonnaroo playing ‘I Know The Truth,’” Alex yelled over the anxious buzz.

Ten seconds later the stage dimmed and people rose to their feet. When the beat dropped, I realized Alex had been spot-on in predicting the opening track for an evening full of surprises and, of course, heavy bass tones.

Pretty Lights is the brainchild of Colorado-based Derek Vincent Smith, the producer of an electronic light and music show that crosses genres and relies heavily on digital sampling in delivering synthesized sounds and organic beats from genres ranging from hip-hop, to vintage funk, rock, soul and beyond.

Smith dropped out of the University of Colorado at Boulder in 2006 to play and record music. With Pretty Lights, named for the Pink Floyd  poster slogan “Come and watch the pretty lights,” he was propelled to international success on the heels of a 2009 sold-out North American tour.

It was a rainy night in Boston on Sept. 23, but that didn’t dampen the spirits of the sold-out crowd gathered to take in what Smith dubbed the “2011 Summer Banger.” From the first note of “I Know The Truth,” a fusion of dark ‘60s soul music and raw bass, people were screaming and clearly anxious to see what Pretty Lights had in store. Smith delivered with a cascade of light, sound, and fury.

Last year, Alex and I saw Pretty Lights in the Red Rocks Amphitheater in the Rocky Mountains surrounding Denver, Colo. Although the idyllic surroundings of that night were not to be matched in Boston, Smith brought the same immense level of energy that has made him a hit among college crowds across the nation.

As the night raged on and the sea breeze drifted through the tent, Alex and I found ourselves repeating the question, “Wait, is he really playing this?”

Smith seemed to enjoy falling back on many of his older classics and staples, playing songs like “Aimin At Your Head,” “Still Night,”  “Keep Em Bouncin,” and “High School Art Class” – Alex’s personal favorite. With each number the energy grew, the colors intensified and the beats ranged from playful syncopation to heavy, deep chest-bumpers.

During the final song before the encore, the stage lit up with Pretty Light’s famous (and somewhat awe-inspiring) LED-lit cityscape while Kanye West’s “All of the Lights” remix pumped through the audience. Smith finished the show with his biggest single, “Hot Like Sauce.”

Then it went dark, but certainly not quiet. In fact, the venue grew louder, a signal that the audience wasn’t ready to quit. Taking his cue, Smith ran back on stage and thanked Boston for being such great fans. With performances like these, though, it’s no wonder we’re all so dedicated.

By Tracey Dee Rauh

Managing Editor of Features

There are feel-good musicals that leave theatergoers with a foot-tapping, care-free kind of sentiment. And then there are those of a rarer sort, that leave viewers pensive, perhaps sad, and maybe even a little bit shocked by what they’ve witnessed.

“Miss Saigon” is of the latter genre. This powerful, emotionally jarring production directed by Paul Dobie at John Lane’s Ogunquit Playhouse will haunt ticket holders long after curtain call.

Having opened on Broadway in 1991 and garnered 11 Tony Award nominations, “Miss Saigon” is inspired by Puccini’s “Madame Butterfly.” That the score, effects and overall ambience harken to “Les Miserables” is no coincidence, as the plays share composers Claude-Michel Schonberg and Alain Boublil, who collaborated with Richard Maltby Jr. to create “Miss Saigon.”

Beyond its incredible operatic score, the great genius of the production lies in its insight into the conflicting psyches and perspectives of the lead and supporting characters, who individually navigate the fallout of Vietnam as survivors in that country and soldiers who have returned to America.On a broader stroke, “Miss Saigon” is a hard-hitting reminder of how the destruction of war ripples from individuals, to families, to communities, societies and on and on.

Set in 1975 shortly before the Fall of Saigon, the story begins with the brief love affair of Kim (Jennifer Paz), a naive Vietnamese bar girl, and Chris (Gregg Goodbrod), an American G.I. It ends with their tragic reunion years later, prompted by Tam, the 3-year-old son Chris learns he left behind.

On the journey between these two points, viewers come to empathize with Kim, who tenaciously grips the hope that Chris will one day return for her and Tam and give them a better life in America; Chris, the traumatized soldier who upon returning home desperately needs to get on with life despite his heartbreak; Ellen (Amanda Rose), his confused and jealous American wife; and even Engineer (Raul Aranas), the French-Vietnamese club owner on a relentless search for a ticket, any ticket, to United States citizenship.

The quality of the production in Ogunquit cannot be overstated. Short on dance and fluff, “Miss Saigon” requires bold direction, high-quality voices and acting, and impressive effects. All are delivered here — right down to the renowned, signature helicopter scene.

In a Saturday, Sept. 24, matinee performance, Paz didn’t miss a line nor a note as Kim, the 17-year old for whom Chris falls during a particularly raucous night at Engineer’s sleazy club, Dreamland.

Goodbrod is believable and compelling as Chris, somewhat shaking the venue with his booming vocals and impressive range, most breathtakingly in “Why God, Why?” Duets between the two deliver highlights of the production, in numbers like “Sun & Moon” and “Last Night of the World.”

Aranas as the delightfully deceptive and self-interested Engineer is a welcome distraction from the play’s heaviness. He hits a high-note in the show-stopper, “The American Dream.” And a review of this production would be remiss without mentions of the formidable performances of Rose as Ellen, and Nik Walter as the American G.I., John.

The Broadway run of “Miss Saigon” ended in 2001 after 4,092 performances. This makes “Miss Saigon,” the last show of the season at The Ogunquit Playhouse, a particularly special opportunity for theatergoers here.

This is a timeless story, for while it’s set in Vietnam, it’s also the story of all war — including the current prolonged conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, as Dobie reminds in his Director’s Notes.

“Whether justified or not, war is always messy, with cruel consequences,” he writes. “Those who forget history are bound to repeat it. … Sometimes it’s up to the arts to remind us of the truth.”

IF YOU GO
What: “Miss Saigon.”
Where: The Ogunquit Playhouse, 10 Main St., Ogunquit, Maine.
When: Through Sunday, Oct. 23.
How: For tickets and show times call 207- 646-5511, or visit http://www.ogunquitplayhouse.org.

This is so, so awesome, on so many levels. Kudos to Sesame Street.


By Jaden Paige Brulotte

Imagine being in a large convention center filled to the brim

with delicious desserts. That you can sample. As much as you want.

This was my experience last weekend at the New England Dessert Showcase. This yearly exhibition brings together dessert makers from around the region to offer samples of their ice cream, chocolates, cakes, cupcakes, and other delicious temptations to ticketholders.

The showcase was held at Boston’s Sheraton Convention Center Sept. 17.

Among the offerings were Batch ice cream (made lovingly by the pint in the owner’s home in Jamaica Plains) and Golden Cannoli (whose bakers mix up thousands of pounds of filling at a time to keep up with the staggering demand for their product).

As a foodie and dessert lover, I was in heaven. I flopped between trying not to go overboard so I wouldn’t have to literally roll myself out of the convention center, and trying to get a taste of every dessert these incredible companies had to offer.

Here are my top choices from the day:

Best Display Area: “O’Sugar Cakery” with its beautiful pink-and-orange ensemble decorated with ribbons, candies and trimmings.

Most Unique: “Kueh,” whose owners create interesting desserts out of ingredients like tapioca starch and glutinous rice.

Prettiest Cake: “Konditor Meister,” whose gorgeous crystal-encrusted wedding cakes truly looked too good to eat.

Biggest “WOW” Factor: Definitely goes to “Golden Cannoli” for the world’s largest cannoli: This thing was gigantic and appeared to have been wrapped around a telephone pole to form it.

Best Cold Treat: “Batch” ice cream, whose Salted Caramel flavor was to die for. I’m an ice cream lover and theirs definitely was a highlight.

A quick shout-out, also, to two vendors I loved but who don’t quite fall as squarely into the “dessert” category: First, Hint water, which is exactly what it sounds like — spring water with a hint of other flavorings. I tried their honeydew hibiscus and it was great.

Second, Budibar, a whole food bar made specifically to improve brain function. While it does have chocolate, it tastes more like a breakfast bar than a dessert. However, it is yummy, nutritious and filling.

It was a lot of fun getting to know some of the local companies who are churning out desserts behind the scenes and meeting the masterminds behind them. If you love sweets, snatch these tickets up next year!

Haverhill’s favorite son Rob Zombie will be shoot his latest film “Lords of Salem” beginning this October in Salem, Mass.

For an update, see more here.

Ok. This is creepy and disturbing on many levels.

Kids don’t do that in the womb, do they?

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers.

Here’s the story from Playbill.

Here’s the video. There is some profanity, so what your ears.

Just got this from Glamour:

Chat LIVE with Kate Bosworth on Glamour magazine’s Facebook page!
We’re so excited to tell you that today, Kate Bosworth will be talking live to Glamour about her upcoming movies, her jewelry collection for Jewelmint and her style inspiration. She will answering YOUR questions right on Glamour’s Facebook page (facebook.com/glamour) on Wednesday, August 3 @ 1-2pm EST/10-11am PST.

Then,  contact Marco Rodriguez at marco@marcrod.com.

This, of course, is related to my Sunday story: Rivaling Reality.

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