It was a homecoming of sorts for Alison Sudol, AKA A Fine Frenzy, as she returned to the place where she played one of her first shows, the Roxy on Sunset. The ever-adorable Sudol charmed the packed house with her piano driven melodies and effervescent voice.......

The Green Umbrella series is a distinctive program of the LA Phil that features cutting edge programming rarely seen in a major concert hall.. New works are commissioned and performed along with works that have become staples in classical music repertory over the last 50 years or so. This weeks classical pick takes us to the Disney Hall this Tuesday and includes two WORLD premieres and works by Elliot Carter and Ginastera. The works......

Jaws. Star Wars. Indiana Jones. ET. Jurassic Park. Harry Potter. These are some timeless tales that captivated our youth (and for some people, their lives). The memories should be flooding back now, reminding you of the good ol’ days, when big blockbuster movies were held together not just by special effects, but with memorable characters, plots (!), and most of all, the music. The minor second motif from Jaws will always run through your mind......

2008 marks the 100 year anniversary of the birth of French composer Olivier Messiaen, best known for his masterpiece Quatuor por la fin du temps ("Quartet for the end of time"). Piano Spheres is commemorating his birth with a concert at Zipper Hall this Tuesday featuring pianists Mark Robson and Joanne Pearce Martin. The program begins with Maurice Ravel's "Gaspard de la Nuit" (which includes the fiendishly difficult Scarbo) followed by short pieces by Satie......

I went to my 15th Tori Amos concert last night. I still remember the high school days of camping outside of Tower records at 7am on a Saturday morning to get tickets to the her shows, or that time I drove 3 hours in the snow to see her play in Boston on my 21st birthday. And then there was the time we got up at 6am to see her do a show in......