Kerry has provided arts and entertainment coverage of art, film, food, literature, and music for About.com, Alrightimwrong.com, Austinist.com, Bostonist.com, The Onion, Northeast Performer, and more. Below, read excerpts from Kerry's music, literary, film, and food coverage.
Kerry wrote music reviews for AltMusic.About.com in late 2007 and early 2008, even covering SXSW 2008 for the site.
On its MySpace, Darla Farmer describes itself as spewing "musical venom." Sadly, the band doesn't seem to realize that people don't always want to listen to something poisonous. Rewiring the Electric Forest has a few too many venomous moments. [read more]
Pennsylvania's Damien DeRose records under the name Peasant, and his sparse, guitar-driven tunes certainly hearken back to simpler days. You can almost see the Peasant caressing his guitar, wearing a shabby little suit, and perhaps holding out a worn hat for tips. [read more]
Tulsa is from Massachusetts, not Oklahoma, and the misleading nature of the band's name is echoed in the dreamy vagueness of its tunes. Working toward grand truths without approaching them head on, Tulsa takes a roundabout, reverb-drenched path to musical enlightenment. [read more]
More About.com reviews, in PDF form: Absentstar, De Novo Dahl, Mike Doughty, Tulsa, Yoav.
The name "Dead Confederate" conjures up gory images of slaughtered soldiers on the battlefield, and indeed Dead Confederate's music is intense, unforgiving, and capable of slaying audiences—in a good way. More from SXSW 2008 Day 1.
Somewhat reminiscent of Sparkle Motion from Napoleon Dynamite (but way more rockin'), YACHT perform staccato hand motions to match their music, and engage in raucous dances to get the crowd moving. The members often dance in the crowd itself, and can always be counted on for truly wild moves. Sweaty and excitable, YACHT put on a unique, unforgettable show. More from SXSW Day 2.
Traditionally a blues venue, Antone's welcomed SXSW with open arms on the third day of the festival. From Bear in Heaven's trippy psych-rock to Basia Bulat's gorgeous voice to Vampire Weekend's exciting afrobeats, Antone's hosted an epic SXSW showcase. More from SXSW Day 3.
The Bat Bar in the Austin Convention Center was perhaps the most posh venue of all the SXSW stages. Set up in style with neon lights and tons of cameras, the Bat Bar performances were filmed live for DirecTV. Whether due to the filming or just love of performance, Sons and Daughters put on a standout show at the Bat Bar on Day 4 of SXSW. Lead singer Adele Bethel wore a figure skater-type costume of green spandex with gold sequin trim, and her commanding stage presence lent the band's set an extra edge. More from SXSW Day 4.
Worst Performance of SXSW 2008: The crowds were the worst part of SXSW 2008. I've never seen such a boring bunch of dowdy prigs. Even at the much-hyped Vampire Weekend show (for which the line stretched around the block more than 4 hours before the band's set time), most of the audience members stood around like they were still waiting in line for the concert, rather than experiencing amazing live music that half of America would kill to see. Particularly in comparison to the moshtastic enthusiasm at The Faint last year, the pervasive audience apathy was bewildering. Did everybody have mono? More of the SXSW Wrapup.
Kerry had the opportunity to cover Lollapalooza 2008 for Andrew Fersch of alrightimwrong.com. From watching Radiohead to meeting Will Sheff, it was an amazing musical experience. Excerpts are no longer available at alrightimwrong, which has removed content from guest contributors, but the Day 3 summary is available here.
Kerry has written album and live reviews forNortheast Performer magazine.
Zox: Line in the Sand. The Providence, Rhode Island foursome Zox has been described as "violin-laced reggae rock," but the band's latest release, Line in the Sand, takes their sound further from Rusted Root and more toward The Faint. The synthy, 80s-inspired instrumentation is professional and the production is high quality, but the sonic wall created by the interplay of guitar, bass, and electric violin occasionally grows so strong that several songs are nearly indistinguishable. Fortunately, the album is interspersed with some standout tracks capable of keeping the listener's interest. [read more]
Mamadou: Live at the Middle East. When Mamadou Diop came out on stage at the Middle East on Friday, February 8, he was totally ready to rock. Decked out in a camouflage-safari outfit, complete with camo pants, safari vest, and pith helmet, Diop was more than prepared to lead his audience on a journey through a musical jungle of Afro-Caribbean grooves backed up by traditional West African drums. And that's just what he did, rocking the Middle East with fast drumbeats and joyful guitar chords. Diop kept the evening upbeat but not sappy, advising audience members to "stay your own self," and backing up his positive attitude with vibrant sounds. [read more]
Kerry was a film writer for Austinist.com in 2007 prior to moving to Boston.
Film Review: En El Hoyo. Watching the film En El Hoyo (In the Pit) is kind of like being in a pit… of boredom. While the documentary’s intentions are good, and some of the subject matter is intriguing, En El Hoyo ultimately fails to tell a compelling tale about its subjects, the construction workers on a massive bridge project in Mexico City. The film could have been a highly topical opportunity to make Americans reflect on the costs of our car-centric culture. Instead, largely as a result of introducing too many characters and issues without truly delving into any of them, En El Hoyo is more of a snooze than a wake-up call. [read more]
Film Review: Inside the Circle: Hip Hop Is Love. Think you've seen some amazing physical feats? Think again. You haven't seen much until you've seen Omar Davlia's elbow flares. Dancing may not traditionally be viewed as tough, but the breakdancers portrayed in Inside the Circle show that it's a tough undertaking, both mentally and physically. This breakdancing documentary is a fascinating and engaging tribute to the many facets of hip-hop culture and breakdancing, as well as a brilliant chronicle of how dancing has affected the lives of several young men. [read more
Interview with Chris Hansen, director, The Proper Care and Feeding of an American Messiah. Brian B. is convinced he's a messiah—but only a "local" messiah, his powers limited to a 100-mile radius. What good is a local messiah, you might ask? Well, Brian's not too sure, either, but he's raising money to help himself—and his town—find out. The Proper Care and Feeding of an American Messiah follows Brian's quest to prove himself, raise funds, and gain "a posse" of apostles. The film's funnier than a nun on a pogo stick, but also raises a few challenging questions. If Brian's crazy for thinking he's a messiah, are all believers crazy for thinking they're saved? When the "real" messiah comes, how will we know? Won't he just be a regular guy—much like Brian? We talked to Chris Hansen to find out. [full interview]
Before taking over as editor of Bostonist.com in April 2007, Kerry served as book editor, etsablishing the weekly "Book It" events feature and writing several author profiles and book reviews. She continues to cover literary topics as time allows.
Josh Kendall, The Man Who Made Lists.: Do u luv txtspk? Do u IDK ur BFF Jill? (Don't worry, we know nobody does that, except in commercials.) R u totes 4gtg rl wrds? Joshua Kendall wants to help. His thoughtful new biography of Peter Mark Roget, the man who wrote Roget's thesaurus (in longhand, at that), reveals the importance of not only word choice but also the relationships between words. Kendall, who's currently working on a biography of Noah Webster (the guy behind the dictionary), thinks that the "printed word is under assault" in our culture, and feels a calling to write about "crazy lexicographers" in an effort to raise our awareness of language. [read more]
James McBride, Song Yet Sung. In an interview with Time magazine following her 1988 Pulitzer Prize win, Toni Morrison described thinking of Beloved as "the least read of all the books I'd written because it is about something that the characters don't want to remember, I don't want to remember, black people don't want to remember, white people don't want to rememberÉ it's national amnesia." Politicians' recent sweeping claims about family members marching "together" with Martin Luther King, Jr. (without actually being in the same city), as well as suggestions that civil rights legislation is more the purview of legislators than activists, bring that sort of national amnesia to the forefront. Have we truly forgotten about our slave-based past and once-institutionalized racism—and, if so, what does that mean for our future? James McBride definitely doesn't suffer from our national amnesia. Rather, he's working hard to combat it in his latest novel, Song Yet Sung (Riverhead). [read more]
Andre Dubus III, The Garden of Last Days. The Garden of Last Days came to Andre Dubus III in piecemeal visions: a wad of cash here, an inspired title there. What he originally thought of as a short story grew to 700+ pages and over a dozen characters, which he cut down to a more manageable 500-page tome. Like its subject matter—choices that are difficult to understand—The Garden of Last Days is multilayered and complex. Chapters narrated by different characters give the reader a holistic perspective on the action. The plethora of voices is more compelling than confusing, and Dubus infuses the plot with enough urgency to create a quick, heart-racing read. [read more]
John Palfrey and Urs Gasser,Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives. In their talk, Urs Gasser and John Palfrey discussed their new book, Born Digital: Understanding the First Generation of Digital Natives, and its implications for digital natives and those who must deal with them as parents, teachers, or even colleagues. The evening began with Charlie Nesson, Berkman Center founder and ruddy-cheeked gent (somehow we can easily see him sipping wine at a wedding on Martha's Vineyard), giving opening remarks on digital natives' "need to understand their own selves... and their rights." Gasser and Palfrey didn't go very in-depth on any issues in their talk, but presumably everything's covered in greater detail in the book—which, by the authors' own admission, was "obsolete the minute it was printed." Fortunately, it came out on the Kindle first—though for more money than the hard copy. Go figure. [read more]
Kerry wrote restaurant reviews for The Onion's print edition in Austin, Texas, following its launch. Excerpts:
Buca de Beppo: Buca's, an Italian chain restaurant, hovers somewhere between the Olive Garden and your Sicilian grandma's cooking. The large restaurant is divided into small themed sections, covered with silly photos and knick-knacks that create a funky (if cheesy) feel.
Cool River Cafe: Cool River Cafe's high ceilings offer the illusion of space, but the place often feels crowded nevertheless. Deer head decorations suggest a modernized hunting lodge; dozens of extra-big-screen TVs suggest a sports bar. The Hummer-driving, thirty-to-forty-something (or more) North Austin yuppie crowd swings the atmosphere toward sports bar, but the kitchen tries hard to churn out sophisticated original offerings.
Halcyon: Everybody loves bars and coffee shops—what could be better than putting them together? A booze-slinging coffeeshop with food to boot, Halcyon opened up a few years ago in a space that once housed the revered Ruta Maya.
Full text of all Onion restaurant reviews
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