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Nathan Weinbender

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All Stories

A&E >  Entertainment

In Woody Allen’s vast catalog, gems get neglected

Woody Allen has written and directed a new film every year since 1982, and he shows no signs of slowing down. His latest, “Blue Jasmine,” hits town this weekend, and he’s already working on a film for release in 2014. When considering a filmmaker as prolific as Allen, there are the titles that just about everyone agrees are essential – “Annie Hall,” “Manhattan,” “Hannah and Her Sisters” and “Crimes and Misdemeanors,” at the very least. But there are the few gems that have fallen through the cracks, that are rarely mentioned in the same breath as his most iconic work and perhaps deserve to be.
A&E >  Entertainment

Beat goes on at CdA’s Long Ear

It’s October 1973. Led Zeppelin is touring the U.S., breaking attendance records that leave the Beatles in the dust. The Rolling Stones and Gladys Knight are tearing up the pop charts. Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” is blowing everyone’s minds. And in a Southern California resort town, a tiny record shop called the Long Ear, owned by husband and wife Terry and Deon Borchard, opens its doors for the first time.
A&E >  Entertainment

Broad range of influences brought Cray to blues

Robert Cray might be immediately recognized as a blues guitarist, but his musical influences range far beyond a single genre. “Everything on the radio was something I was interested in,” Cray said of his adolescent inspirations. His signature sound, a mixture of traditional blues, pop and soul, has roots in the work of everyone from Howlin’ Wolf to Jimi Hendrix.
A&E >  Entertainment

Gripping ‘Hunt’ illustrates lies’ destructive power

Thomas Vinterberg’s “The Hunt” is a tragic drama from Denmark that’s made all the more heartbreaking because it hinges on an innocent misunderstanding. It’s a deeply engrossing and intimate story of collective paranoia and false guilt, in which a childish remark inadvertently unravels a man’s life. That remark comes from a little girl named Klara, who’s maybe 5 or 6 and has a close relationship with one of her teachers, a soft-spoken family friend named Lucas (Mads Mikkelsen). It’s apparent that Klara’s mother and father pay little attention to her, so she relies on Lucas to assume the role of surrogate parent, listening to her stories and walking her to school.
A&E >  Entertainment

Beat goes on at CdA’s Long Ear

It’s October 1973. Led Zeppelin is touring the U.S., breaking attendance records that leave the Beatles in the dust. The Rolling Stones and Gladys Knight are tearing up the pop charts. Pink Floyd’s “The Dark Side of the Moon” is blowing everyone’s minds. And in a Southern California resort town, a tiny record shop called the Long Ear, owned by husband and wife Terry and Deon Borchard, opens its doors for the first time.
A&E >  Entertainment

Broad range of influences brought Cray to blues

Robert Cray might be immediately recognized as a blues guitarist, but his musical influences range far beyond a single genre. “Everything on the radio was something I was interested in,” Cray said of his adolescent inspirations. His signature sound, a mixture of traditional blues, pop and soul, has roots in the work of everyone from Howlin’ Wolf to Jimi Hendrix.
News >  Spokane

Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre cancels 2014 season

After 46 years in operation, it may be the final curtain for Coeur d’Alene Summer Theatre. Theater officials sent a letter Tuesday morning to the company’s email subscriber list announcing its decision to cancel next year’s season for the time being.
A&E >  Entertainment

Local musician a rising national star

Cami Bradley almost always has a busy schedule. Along with her full-time job as the music director at Life Center Church in Spokane, she runs a photography business that she started two years ago. She’s also a well-known local musician who has played at numerous local venues and who released an album of folk-tinged pop songs and soulful ballads called “Seas” earlier this year.
A&E >  Entertainment

Play captures humor, heart of kitchen

Since its debut at Minnesota’s Plymouth Playhouse in 2005, the musical comedy “Church Basement Ladies” has inspired three sequels and has been performed by various troupes around the country. The play’s upcoming run at Interplayers marks its Northwest premiere.
A&E >  Entertainment

Slacker actors could take a lesson from these guys

Last week, I wrote about actors who were wasting their talents in bad movies – call it the Eddie Murphy Syndrome. Now let’s discuss actors who actually are reliable, who generally deliver good performances in smart, interesting movies. One of them is Matt Damon, whose newest film, “Elysium,” opens today. Damon rose to prominence starring in and co-writing 1997’s “Good Will Hunting,” and since then he’s devoted his career to mostly worthwhile projects. I particularly like his collaborations with Steven Soderbergh (“The Informant,” “Contagion” and the recent HBO feature “Behind the Candelabra”), but even his forays into big-budget territory – namely the “Bourne” films – have been better than average.
A&E >  Entertainment

Local musician a rising national star

Cami Bradley almost always has a busy schedule. Along with her full-time job as the music director at Life Center Church in Spokane, she runs a photography business that she started two years ago. She’s also a well-known local musician who has played at numerous local venues and who released an album of folk-tinged pop songs and soulful ballads called “Seas” earlier this year.
A&E >  Entertainment

Classic, modern acts close Festival at Sandpoint

The Festival at Sandpoint continues into its second weekend with another impressive trio of musical acts, including two of modern rock’s most exciting new artists and a seasoned veteran with a deep catalogue of classic hits. • The John Butler Trio, with Eclectic Approach, Thursday, 7:30 p.m. John Butler is a huge star in his native Australia, and although his name isn’t as instantly recognized here, he has gained a fervent following in the States after several international tours with the Dave Matthews Band. Pulling from country, folk, rock and reggae influences, Butler released three consecutive No. 1 albums in his homeland, as well as several live recordings, and has also won a number of Australian music awards. Seattle pop-rock band Eclectic Approach will open the show. $44.95.
A&E >  Entertainment

Good actors can survive only so many bad roles

If you’re a huge Hollywood actor and you’ve just poured your heart out in an emotionally exhausting dramatic role, taking a job in a dumb thriller in which most of the work is done by a stunt double must feel like going on a vacation. Sure, everyone needs a break every once in awhile, but a lot of actors have been stuck in vacation mode for too long.
A&E >  Entertainment

Roving display highlights arts innovators

From a distance, they resemble the type of sandwich boards you might see advertising the daily specials outside of a café. Get a little closer, and you’ll see they’re adorned with black-and-white portraits, designed to catch your attention as you’re walking down the street. The pieces are part of a public art series called Spokane 50, and it’s been devised by photographer Marshall Peterson to highlight and celebrate those responsible for keeping the engine of Spokane’s art scene up and running.
A&E >  Entertainment

Social satire carries message of tolerance

Camp has never been so … well, campy. “Gay Camp,” a stage play written by Philip Mutz and Susan-Kate Heaney that lands at Interplayers on Saturday night, is a satire of social mores, political correctness, hypocrisy and cultural stereotypes. Although it’s filled with dirty jokes and bad behavior, it preaches a message of open-mindedness and compassion.
A&E >  Entertainment

Sounds of Sandpoint come in all styles

Year after year, the Festival at Sandpoint has proven to be one of the best and most reliable concert series in the region. Now in its 31st summer, the fest continues to bring major musical acts to Bonner County. A wide array of acts highlighted last year’s event, from the South African vocal group Ladysmith Black Mambazo to the radio-friendly folk rock of the Counting Crows. That variety continues this year, with a lineup of artists from a number of genres and eras.
A&E >  Entertainment

Through the decades, Frampton delivers

If you thumb through just about any dog-eared record collection, there’s bound to be a well-worn copy of Peter Frampton’s live double LP “Frampton Comes Alive!” The album was a surprise smash when it was released in 1976, instantly rocketing Frampton to Guitar God status. Several of the album’s tracks, namely its renditions of “Show Me the Way” and “Baby, I Love Your Way,” immediately overshadowed their studio-recorded versions and remain staples of classic rock radio.
A&E >  Entertainment

‘Abridged’ makes quick work of Bard’s works

Where would we be without William Shakespeare? So many elements from his stories have been borrowed and recycled so often that they’re now clichés, and he coined countless words and expressions that have long been part of the modern lexicon. More so than any other writer, Shakespeare’s work is inextricably linked to the way we speak and the way we tell stories today.
A&E >  Entertainment

Art Up fosters creative connections

The cardinal rule in most art galleries is “no touching.” You should keep your distance, admiring from afar, and if you have to get close, it’s to study the brush strokes with your nose just a few inches away from the canvas. But then there’s interactive art, which actually requires the viewer to get hands-on.
A&E >  Entertainment

Moonwalking a mile in his shoes

When Kenny Wizz was a teenage break- dancer in the summer of 1984, the Olympics came to his hometown of Los Angeles. “The whole world was basically in LA,” he recalled in a recent telephone interview.
A&E >  Entertainment

Powering up the DeLorean

Science is all about asking “how?” and “why?” Science fiction, on the other hand, is more about asking “what if?” and following those scenarios to their logical extremes.
A&E >  Entertainment

Powering up the DeLorean

Science is all about asking “how?” and “why?” Science fiction, on the other hand, is more about asking “what if?” and following those scenarios to their logical extremes.
News >  Features

Keeping the faith

Third Day’s journey to Christian rock superstardom began in the same place that just about every other band starts: in someone’s garage. Vocalist Mac Powell and guitarist Mark Lee have been making music together since they were teenagers in Atlanta, playing in various local garage bands and crafting their own roots rock sound as inspired by groups such as R.E.M., Collective Soul and the Georgia Satellites.
A&E >  Entertainment

Brotherly bond at heart of pioneering band

When they recorded their only full-length album in 1974, the three members of the Detroit band Death couldn’t have possibly anticipated the bizarre turns their careers would eventually take. They were an anomaly in their time – three African-American brothers playing punk rock in the birthplace of Motown, and doing it years before bands like the Sex Pistols and the Ramones brought the genre greater popularity. The group almost secured a record deal with producer Clive Davis, but it fell through when they refused to change their name, which was then deemed too controversial for a mainstream label. The band broke up shortly thereafter.
A&E >  Entertainment

Test for ‘Pacific Rim’ is whether it can transcend the juvenile

When I was a kid, around 8 or 9 years old, I was hopelessly enamored with things that every impressionable boy likes at that age. You know, cool stuff like robots, monsters, fast cars, spaceships and superheroes. Since I’ve grown up, my tastes have naturally changed (whether they’ve been refined is still up for debate). But every time I wander into the theater to take in the latest big-budget action blockbuster, what do I see? Robots, monsters, fast cars, spaceships and superheroes. It’s as if everyone in Hollywood is making movies aimed exclusively at the elementary-school set.