ongoing  - Aug. 4  

    You enter the main chamber in the Ann and Graham Gund Gallery at Boston’s Museum of Fine Art and you feel as if you should get ready for war.

   To your right, a trio of fierce-looking, heavily armored samurai warriors on mounted steeds, frozen in mid-gallop, ready to charge into battle. The horses, you notice, also have protective face armor. To your left, staring down the cavalry are five more samurai warriors, on foot, readying for a confrontation. Behind them is a mural depicting an epic wide-ranging battle.

    These sculptures, and other standalone warriors and their accessories, are the centerpieces of “Samurai! Armor from the Ann and Gabriel Barbier-Mueller Collection,” on display through August 4.

     An exhibit like this offers us a chance to transport ourselves back in time, to imagine ourselves in the midst of a culture long ago and far away. In this case, we’re in Japan during the expansive era of the shoguns, who served country’s emperors from 1185 to 1868. The samurai began in 792, following the discontinuation of troop conscription, as landowners needed to provide their own defense. The sword-wielding samurais’ role evolved over the centuries, but by 1185 they aided the governing shoguns, enforcing tax collection and crushing rebellions. They lived and died by a strict code – bushido, the way of the warrior, with loyalty and chivalry high on the list – and they accepted suicide by disembowelment as just punishment for dishonoring that code.

    Not long ago, the MFA held a press gathering for an exhibit tour.  Director Malcolm Rogers and co-curator Anne Morse spoke, as did Gabriel Barbier-Mueller. Rogers noted that while the Museum was “famous for our Japanese collection, this is an area we’re not strong.” The MFA’s Art of Japan Gallery features 100,000-plus objects - paintings, textiles and decorative arts – and is considered the finest collection of Japanese art outside of Japan.

     Barbier-Mueller, 57, is a Dallas-based global real estate developer and investor with an estimated net worth of $1.4 billion. He was born in Geneva, came to Dallas in 1979 and is the founder and CEO of Harwood International.  His grandfather was an art collector; his parents were collectors; he, his wife and children are collectors. “Three generations,” he said. His adult daughter Nina Barbier-Mueller Tollett traveled with him to the Boston exhibit. She said she’d grown up with the samurai around her since she was 12. She and co-curator Jessica Liu Beasley installed the exhibit.

   “Each piece,” said Rogers, “Is a beautiful piece of art conveying the power and might of these warriors.”

ongoing

On December 16, 1773, a band of dedicated Patriots gathered at the Old South Meeting House for what may be the most fateful political convention in American history. On that night, these liberty-loving locals decided to throw off the shackles of tyranny and rise up against their oppressors by dumping crates of over-taxed tea in Boston Harbor. In committing this act of resistance (and water pollution), Sam Adams and his costumed cohorts set off a revolution that became the Revolution.

Today, nearly 240 years later, liberty-loving locals and guests can relive and even reenact their dramatic demonstration in what is looking to be a new revolution in tourism and educational entertainment. At the recently-reopened Boston Tea Party Ship and Museum (http://www.bostonteapartyship.com), Patriots, Tories, and people from all geographical and political walks of life can come together in a shared experience that is heavy on the “experience.” Through cutting-edge technology and web-enhanced interaction, visitors to the restored Beaver and Eleanor (authentic recreations of the ships involved in the original Party) can take on the roles of some of Sam’s neighbors and then enjoy a “spot” of tea with Abigail Adams in her tea room.

Originally opened in 1973 as a ramp-up to the nation’s bicentennial, the museum was struck by lightening in 2001 and burned. In the ensuing dozen years, the folks at Historic Tours of America (who took ownership of the museum in 1999) put together a plan for a bigger and better Beaver. Ironically, just as the original Tea Party was a reaction to political gerrymandering and oppression, the reopening of the museum involved much of the same scenario. “The first six years was a long process of permitting,” explains Executive Director Shawn Ford, noting that the museum is the only attraction of its kind that is located in the middle of a bridge in the middle of a channel in the middle of a major harbor. “There were so many agencies from which we needed to get approval.”

ongoing - June 2 

 There is still, perhaps, the idea that art and science live on two different ends of the world. One is a creative pursuit and the other driven by research and analysis. Left brain, right brain. Rarely the twain would, or should, meet.

    Whitney Bernstein a Ph.D. student at MIT/Woods Hole Oceanography Institute, wasn’t so sure.

    “A lot of people don’t have a good connection to science,” said Bernstein, on the phone from Woods Hole. “They see a scientist as someone in the lab, very analytical. But if you only see a scientist that way it’s limiting.  At WHOI, a scientist is very multi-faceted and actually it’s like the process of doing art. In fact, the processes in investigating science and art are parallel.”

    So, thought Bernstein, why not try and get scientists from Woods Hole and artists from Massachusetts together in a collaborative setting? What might they come up with?

     “The idea,” she said, “was putting two people together who might think different. It might stimulate new ideas, to put together those practitioners in the arts and sciences to think in a different way and to convey those stories about oceanography. How do you reach new audiences instead of preaching to the choir? How do you convey these ideas in a more visceral or impactful way?”

   In March 2012, Bernstein – who was later joined by Lizzie Kripke an artist and student in neuroscience, and art student Michael MacMahon – put out the call for something that would become “Ocean Stories: A Synergy of Art and Science” - eight pieces that are at Boston’s Museum of Science’s Art & Science Gallery through June 2.

    . Last May, they staged “matching day” at WHOI’s Clark Building Auditorium.  “I was really excited,” Bernstein said, “but I wasn’t sure how it was going to turn out.  I wasn’t sure if scientists would want to participate. If I got all these artists, are any scientists going to show up?  I set up a round table, and what was fun about that day was just to see people look around and get in conversations and share their work.

    More than 50 artists contacted her, as did about 30 scientists On matching day, Bernstein said, “Artists brought in samples and scientists brought in samples. I thought, ‘Wow, my brain is blown on both sides.’” The “Synergy” team ended up consisting of eight artists, nine students, one post-doc student and one senior scientist

     Initially, Bernstein and her partners thought this might result in a small-town affair – maybe a wine-and-cheese opening at a space in the Woods Hole village. “But when I realized the caliber of the artists and dedication people had,” she said, “we wanted to find a bigger and longer home.” The Museum of Science was interested and with seed money from MIT, the project expanded its scope.

    “Both professions lend themselves to seclusion,” said scientist Jill McDermott, who worked with Jamaican-born oil painter Bryan MacFarlane. Three works hang, “Blues Rediscovered,” “Discovery” and “Underworlds.” “And both require a lot of focused, dedicated energy to succeed. The message I hope we convey is that scientists and artists do not exist in isolation. Artists and scientists are similar in that they both convey complex information to others, but they employ different tools and emphasis. The combination can be very powerful, and convey scientific concepts in a more compelling visual sense than even the nicest illustration in a textbook.”

Saturdays

First, there is the smell.Familiar. Intoxicating. Some say ED-preventing.Then, just when you can barely take anymore, a smiling head pops through the door - “Anybody want some chocolate?”
 
Welcome to two-and-a-half hours of educational heaven, aka the Taste of Chocolate Workshop.
 
Run by the folks who have been bringing the legendary Mystery Café to Boston and beyond for years and hosted in the Elephant and Castle Pub in Downtown Boston (the same site as one of the most popular Mystery Café dinners), the Workshop tells you perhaps more than you ever wanted to know about chocolate (pretty much right down to the molecular level) and then lets you get into it up to your wrists (at least) through a hands-on truffle-making party.

Tues. May 21

    “I don’t want people to see the real me,” says Kevin Barnes, the flamboyant leader of the multi-piece band of Montreal. “I want them to see that fantastic vision of what I wish was.”
   Singer-guitarist Barnes was on the phone from his home base of Athens, Ga., where he and of Montreal (eight musicians, five performance artists) were going through dress rehearsals for a tour last fall. Of Montreal is back on tour again and playing the Paradise Tuesday May 21. During shows, Barnes has been hanged. He has emerged from a coffin wearing shaving cream. He’s been covered in blood. He has been naked. He’s ridden on a horse wearing gold panties.
  “Yeah, we’ve done all sorts of things,” Barnes says. “It’s fun. It gives us a chance to do something exceptional, something about being a spectacle or creating something for people to look at as voyeurs.”
   And there was that bit with a schoolmarm-ish Susan Sarandon cqduring a New York show in January 2010.
   “She came on stage,” Barnes says “I got down on my hands and knees. She sat on me and one of our performance artists was dressed as a pig and she grabbed him and put him over her knee and spanked him with a ruler. It made me feel elated.”
    Might the visuals overwhelm the music?
    “I can see that could potentially be an issue,” says Barnes, “but what we’re trying to do should add to the song and shouldn’t’ take away from the song. If it does become too much of a spectacle that you’re not touched by the song itself, that’s dangerous territory. You definitely have to walk the fine line.”

 ongoing 

   On  Monday June 10, all proceeds from the show will go to the www.onefundboston.org to benefit the Marathon bombing victims. Tickets: $55 & $35. On sale May 22.

     As Apple launched its iPad 2 in San Francisco, Blue Man Group unveiled its GiPad in Boston. Let’s hope Steve Jobs is not in litigation mode, or at least has developed a sense of humor.

Sat. May 25

The Possum is gone, but the Possum's songs live on. Merle Haggard has saluted his pal George Jones as the greatest country singer ever, and no one's really stood up to argue. Certainly not me. Saw the man once at a racetrack in New Hampshire, after missing him in Boston at the Paradise years earlier because, yep, it was a night for No-Show Jones. (He played the first Paradise show; I planned on going to the second - stupid me - and by then George was "sick." Nick Lowe was another disappointed fan out in the lobby that night as I recall.) At any rate, singer-guitarist Dave Aaronoff (Muck and the Mires. the Protagonists) had a cool idea: "I thought it would be nice to salute George Jones since he recently passed away," he emailed us.  I have been a big fan of his for years.  I do come from more of a rock n' roll background, but I have been playing country music with my band The Protagonists for several years now.  We cover a lot of George Jones songs in the band.  It's true, he was a hell raiser and a bad ass which I love, but he was also one of the great songwriters of the century.  I put him up there with Hank and Johnny Cash.  His songs tell such great stories of heartbreak, and he wrote many of the best drinking songs of all time.  His duets with Tammy Wynette are some of my favorite recordings of his.  I never did get to see him live." Aaronoff notes that he heard a bootleg of that first Paradise show (the one I missed) and he says, "but I did hear a bootleg of the show and despite the fact that the whole band was sick, they blew the roof off the place. ... So we are going to play some of his songs, and some of our own, and raise a glass (probably quite a few glasses, actually) to The Possum! Hopefully he's up there at the great honkytonk in the sky knocking a few back."
With the Darlings and the Invaders. Starts at 9. Tix: $8.

1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-547-0759 www.lizardloungeclub.com  

Thurs. May 30

The train keeps a rollin'. Dropkick Murphys just did their smashing multi-band benefit for Marathon bombing victims at the  House of Blues and raised $100,000. There were whispers at that show that there was something bigger in the works, and now there is: A benefit - called Boston Strong: An Evening of Support and Celebration - at TD Garden Thursday May 30, featuring (as of now) Aerosmith, the J. Geils Band, (in photo, Peter Wolf) Boston (the band, or whoever Tom Scholtz has in the band),  Godsmack, New Kids of the Block, Extreme and, holy moly, Jimmy Buffett. Now, the idea primarily here is Boston artists for the Boston tragedy, but Buffett's a friend of Live Nation's Don Law and so ... And James Taylor is on the bill too (he's a Vineyard and Western Mass. guy, sometimes) along with his longtime pal Carole King. Country singer Jason Aldean - he's on it. (Not sure of his connection.) Comedy from Dane Cook who has done these big halls and Steven Wright, who is known for smaller-scale wry jokes and more intimate rooms. More to be announced, and it'll be interesting to see if any younger Boston area talent comes on the bill - Passion Pit - or any hip-hop or any outside-Boston superstars, as with the Sandy Hook benefit.  Tickets On-Sale Monday, May 6 at 10:00 AM. (See details below.) Net proceeds go to www.onefundboston.org.
    Says Don Law: “Live Nation and TD Garden have hosted thousands of concerts over the years, but none with such a sense of purpose as Boston Strong: A Concert of Support and Celebration.” said Don Law, President of Live Nation New England. “Boston is a city with strong roots, and homegrown artists reached out to us to see what could be done.  We are proud to help solidify this huge concert line-up.”
   NKOTB's Donnie Wahlberg: “Like so many other proud Bostonians who have been extremely generous, we are honored to step up and do our part to help the victims and their families. Hopefully this event will not only raise money, but spirits as well.” 
   Taylor: “The One Fund event at the Garden this May 30th is destined to be a true Boston landmark. From the promoters to the sound & lights, to the performers and the Garden staff; everyone involved has responded from the heart in a spontaneous and simultaneous desire to be there, and to do what we can for the city we love. I am honored to be a part of it, and…I can’t wait."
    Tickets are priced from $35 to $285.  Prices include all fees and service charges. In an effort to make sure all net proceeds from ticket sales go directly to The One Fund, all tickets will be sold through Ticketmaster’s paperless ticket delivery.  Fans must have the credit card used to make the purchase and a valid, government-issued ID to gain entry.

1 Causeway St., 800-745-3000 www.ticketmaster.com and www.livenation.com/vip. 

Sat. June 1

Jon Lupfer, co-owner of the fab Q Division Studio in Somerville, is comin' right at you with this pitch. "You Will Buy Our Stuff!," emails Jon, taking a page right out of HSN. What stuff? you wonder. "Vinyl records and CD's, cables, books, posters, speakers, microphones, outboard gear, guitar road and drum cases, hand made amps, hand made pedals." (We're guessing the latter two cater to the hipster crowd and the "outboard gear" has nothing to do with powerboats.) Explains Jon, of this four hour sale Saturday June 1 (rain date: next day) : "It's happening again. A bunch of friendly engineers, musicians and just regular (well...regularish) people with too much stuff on their hands are getting together in Q Division's back lot to clear house, or to pretend to clear house, but really just to trade their stuff for other people's stuff. It's a good time. I'm not sure what's going to be for sale this year, but it's pretty sure to include these [aforementioned] items." What if you get hungry? What if it's hot? "We'll be firing up the grill and having some good old fashioned hot dogs and other grillables. It tends to be VERY SUNNY. We recommend sun screen if you think you'll be hanging out for any length of time (and we certainly hope you will)!" How about music? Crikey, everyone and his sister has recorded at this spot, anybody on board? "This year it didn't work out to be the same weekend as Porchfest," Lupfer says, "so we don't have any live music planned, but we might find some music around here somewhere." Hours: 10 AM - 2 PM.

393 Highland Ave., Somerville, www.qdivision.com

Tues. June 11 

One of our favorite old Tom Waits' songs was "Pasties and a G-String," an ode to the old days of burlesque, before the hardcore era surged in and way before the internet turned every possible sexual delight (or perversion) into something a click or two away. The Boston Babydolls, a leader in the new burlesque revival, come from that old-school, but, of course, with new twists. The Babydolls start a second-Tuesday-of-the-month regular gig at Somerville's Davis Square Theatre (Jimmy Tingle's old spot). They're calling it the Teaseday Club (cute) and your host Mr. Scratch will be joined by Betty Blaize, Brigitte Bisoux and others in an evening of provocative R-rated entertainment. Vaudeville and comedy also promised. Burlesque performers from outside Boston may come and join the event as well. Starts at 7:30. Tix: $15.

255 Elm St., Somerville, 800-838-3006. www.bostonbabydolls.com

Tickets on sale Monday April 15, details below                                                             Wed. June 12

     Some years ago, in the '90s and at the Boston Globe, I was asked - along with a cadre of other writers - to do a fictional projection story: What life would be like in 2030. Some writers tried to seriously predict the gadgetry and zeitgeist of the future. I opted for a parody review of the world's longest surviving rock band, The Rolling Stones and in the lede, wrote: "Is this the last time?," oh so cleverly playing of "The Last Time" song and aping the lede we rock writers have been using for DECADES. I had Keith with a blood-changing machine; I had Mick in a wheelchair. I had one of their new songs as being "Learning to Crawl (All Over Again)." I had Jagger forgetting the lyrics to "You Can't Always Get What You Want" having a senior moment trying to figure out what you got when didn't get what you wanted. Oh yes, you get what you need. I imagined Wrinkle Vision goggles for fans which cleared up Stones wrinkles and portable oxygen tanks. It was all good fun.

   Now, as you know, the Stones are back at it with their 50th Anniversary tour - no joke, it's called 50 and Counting - and once again the age and rock thing looms. I'll be covering the show at TD Garden in Boston June 12 for the Cape Cod Times. I thought I'd go back to a real concert, from 1999, and cull some observations of that. Serious observations, mind you, and project those thoughts 14 years down the road.

    Take your pick: Mick Jagger  is our very own Dorian Gray: spry, lithe, ageless, possessing a full head of hair, in command of all his faculties, a babe magnet still as he exhorts the graying, balding, and well-heeled nation of Rolling Stones fans to relive their youth via his group's adamant decision not to be put out to pasture. Or, Jagger is a rock 'n' roll Hugh Hefner -- fresh out of a marriage, shameless, and on saucy roll, an aging cad flirting with self-caricature.

     The Rolling Stones played their second consecutive sold-out show at the FleetCenter last night. The goods? The Rolling Stones had 'em and we bought 'em. Make your own joke about getting what we want vs. what we need. Money is certainly part of their motivation -- Jagger's got this rather expensive divorce on the way -- and when he sang "Gimme all your money/Gimme all your gold" in "Some Girls," it really felt like he was singing to us, even us in the rear "club seats" who ponied up $110 a ducat (love those "service" charges) to squint at the human ants and lock onto the large crystal-clear video monitor that hung over the stage. Did I say ants? I'm sorry. They were ants last time around at Foxborough Stadium in 1997. This time they were as big as shaggy-haired gerbils.

     But it's not just about money. The Stones want to prove that there is something both ephemeral and eternal about rock 'n' roll pleasure, that like the old blues guys, they can bring their music to all generations and not succumb to self-parody. Last night, there was a lot of pleasure to be had. Was it enough bang for the buck? That's one for endless debate, but I will say this: The Stones are like Microsoft, to whom they sold "Start Me Up" for the Windows 95 TV ad campaign. Both the Stones and Microsoft make obscene gobs of money because they have a product people covet. It's supply and demand, Capitalism 101. I may not like the equation, but I'm not crazy about multimillion-dollar golden parachutes for faltering CEOs or the cost of Ryder Cup tickets. A thought I couldn't escape: You know the Stones's ubiquitous tongue-and-lips design that was seemed so lascivious in 1972? Today, it's as radical as any other corporate logo.