Chris Azzopardi
Tales of a Mama's Boy
My mom told me she wanted to be cremated. That was just a few weeks ago, as she and I united for a rare dinner-table supper. But, without the slightest warning, the typical how-was-work chat abruptly spiraled into an unnerving speech about my mom's [...]
Carlile's 'Story' shines
Brandi Carlile The Story A- Live 8 p.m. May 9 The Ark, Ann Arbor (Sold out) Once upon a time Brandi Carlile surged through to an onslaught of folk fanatics – courtesy of some doctors – faster than a forest fire. The time? Just two years ago when her [...]
Fuzzy folkie
Catie Curtis' memory of Ann Arbor is fuzzy. The Boston-based folkie, who spent two years in the quaint town 14 years ago, blames being incoherent (in other words, totally wasted) when she sauntered into a popular gay nightclub. "I think there was [...]
Erotic world serves as backdrop to Lansing production
INFO BOX "Sex&Violets.com" 8 p.m. May 4, 5, 11 and 12 Metro Internet Exchange (MIX), Lansing www.icarusfalling.com LANSING — "Sex&Violets.com" is making its North American debut. The production centers on Stafford Myers and Thora Ainslie as [...]
Hear Me Out: Lavigne gets loud, McBride masters monster notes
Avril Lavigne {ITAL "The Best Damn Thing" B} Avril Lavigne still wants to be a Toys 'R' Us kid. Forget the step-ahead she took to prove herself as a grown-up on her somber sophomore album. On "The Best Damn Thing" she does a switcheroo – channeling [...]
Sweet vibrations
Imagine this. Duckie, the wannabe hipster in "Pretty In Pink," has a fabulous wedding to a hunky homo. Together, they raise two adopted children. Oh, and his Grace Adler is Andie. Uh, wait. Wasn't Duckie gaga over Andie – played by the then [...]
Hair and homos
Jenny Owen Youngs doesn't need to sit on the reason for her gay fan flock. Sure, the tomboy get-up is a magnetic lesbian force. But there's a more scientific explanation. "It's because my hair is really shiny," Youngs laughs. The school-girl looking [...]
Laugh out loud
Pick up a Pocket Gay. They're like a babbling Barbie, only better – and queerer. These portable homo peeps offer (gay) style tips, abrasive (lesbian) baseball breaking-in and if they're not fed, well, dig a whole in the backyard cause they can [...]
Notes' gets gold star
You'll never look at gold stars the same. Judi Dench's stinging lesbian persona in "Notes On A Scandal" likes to put one of those shiny stickers in her journal every time something goes her way. Barbara Covett (Dench) is cloaked in a fierce facade, [...]
Not so naughty
Give Liz Snavely a break. Even "American Idol" contestants have ripped lyrics to shreds. What's worse, they've slipped-up in front of crowds exceeding those at a coffeehouse or bar, where Snavely typically performs. "I've forgotten words," the [...]
Dissing Diana
Diana Ross is a legend. Several PO'ed fans that found my review of her latest syrup-fest "I Love You" outlandish drilled that into my head. How dare I diss one of America's most well-known divas? What's worse, how could I trash a (blah) record from [...]