Mountain Views News          Saturday, March 19, 2011

10

ARTS & ENTERTAIMENT

 Mountain Views News Saturday, March 19, 2011 


SEAN’S SHAMELESS 

REVIEWS: 

MUSIC THIS WEEK


I’ve had the emphatic gratification of discovering one of the 
truly amazing albums from last year. Sun Airway is composed 
of the fierce duo of Philadelphia natives Jon Barthmus and 
Patrick Marsceill. Their tour-de-force, imaginatively titled 
debut record, Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier is 
a genuine work of art. While the album’s appellation may 
seem pretentious, that isn’t true for the actual tunes on the 
record. “Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier” is an 
impeccably crafted, dreamy indie-pop laced, neo-psychedelic 
opus of grand magnitude. It’s an amalgamation of silky-smooth 
electronics, shoegazer sounds, melodic tones, haunting ambience and atmospheric essence. 
“Sun Airway’s” tightly composed introduction album encompasses a sonorous experience 
for fans of this musical persuasion. At the 
same token, music listening thrill seekers are 
in for an unexpected treat in the most epic 
proportions. 

 To paint a better portrait, Sun Airway’s 
sound is a hybrid of experimental electronic 
specialists Animal Collective and the 
delightfully delicate vocals of Coldplay’s Chris 
Martin. Does it really get any better than that? 
Lyrically speaking, Barthmus and Marsceill 
supply blissful, happy-induced, uncomplicated words. Barthmus subtly executes the line 
“I’m just looking for the perfect sentence to keep us alive” in “Swallowed By The Night”. At 
face value, the lyrics are simple, but it’s beneath the surface where the true meaning lies. 
We’ve all at some point in time felt this way and despite the lucid lyrics, the real beauty is 
the way Barthmus sings. He isn’t showy or grandiloquent in presentation. There is a gentle 
cadence to his delivery. You can’t help but to believe in what Barthmus is representing and 
also the way he feels. There is an astonishing element to this rhapsody. It’s difficult to put into 
words, but it’s a record that can be deemed as the soundtrack to one’s own individual life. 
Something truly unique is likely to be unraveled for the open-minded patron. Listeners will 
easily become lost in the pensive mood the album effortlessly demonstrates. Isn’t that what 
music is all about? Something so rare and enchanting that you feel attached to it as if grants 
you the answers to your own past without ever knowing what your own history entailed. The 
lyrics will navigate you through your own plight while the soaring melodies will guide you 
to your own personal utopia.

 “Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier” is a rapturous, indisputably pleasurable, indie 
pop-rock composition. Nothing about the record rings false or overly exaggerated. It’s pitch-
perfect from beginning to end. Downright contagious, utterly vigorous, and even mystical, 
there’s no denying the replay value that can be found here. Not much can be said for most 
artists these days, but the potential for Sun Airway is immeasurable. It’s the quintessential 
time to discover the exquisiteness of “NOECC”. It’ll surely keep you warm in these spring 
nights and cool you off in the midst of the forthcoming summer. Words of advice, it’ll be best 
to put on those shades Sun Airway, because the future is looking awfully bright for you guys.

Key Tracks: “American West”, “Shared Piano”, “Your Moon”

Grade: 10 out of 10. 

I hope I didn’t miss anything! Keep those cards and letters coming.....

 

SUN. 3/20 - BARRY “BIG B” BRENNER @ FIREFLY BISTRO IN SOUTH PASADENA, 11am - 2pm. 1009 El 
Centro. 626-441-2443. Sunday BLUES Brunch! http://www.bigbbrenner.com/ 

 

SUN. 3/20 - ANNUAL WISTARIA FESTIVAL IN DOWNTOWN SIERRA MADRE, 9am - 5pm. Arts & crafts 
fair, food booths, tons of live music and purple blossoms! ALUMINUM MARSHMALLOW, HORSES ON 
ASTROTURF, ? AND THE WISTARIANS, LEN MENDOZA, DAVE SHELTON and many more. I drove by the 
world-famous vine today and I think it’s going to be a great bloom this year.

 

SUN. 3/20 - “OPERA TO BROADWAY” VOCAL PERFORMANCES @ CAFE 322 IN SIERRA MADRE, 
7-10pm. 322 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. 626-836-

5414. Full bar and great Italian food. Every Sunday evening. Get there early - they pack ‘em in! 

 

TUES. 3/22 - “JC & Friends Songwriter Serenade” @ MATT DENNY’S ALEHOUSE & RESTAURANT IN 
ARCADIA, 7 - 9:30pm. 145 E. Huntington Dr., between 1st & 2nd Aves. 626-462-0250. Full bar & kitchen, all 
ages. A weekly acoustic show of songwriters playing original songs, either as a solo or duo act, outside on the 
covered, heated patio. This week’s artists: Brooke Williams, Jeffrey Michaels, and Sweet Potatoes. http://www.
jchyke.com/

 

WED. 3/23 - LISA FINNIE & JOHN PALMER re-duet @ RED CARPET WINE & SPIRITS IN GLENDALE, 
7 - 8pm. 400 E. Glenoaks Blvd. Indoor musical delights and three-option tastings via the in-house Enomatics 
in the Red Carpet Wine Bar. Outdoor temptations available just outside courtesy of Vizzi Food Truck. www.
redcarpetwine.com

 

FRI. 3/25 - THE MELLOW D’z (Dave Osti & Deanna Cogan) @ Cafe 322 in Sierra Madre, 5:30 - 7:30pm. 322 
W. Sierra Madre Blvd. 626-836-5414. Great happy hour discounts on food and drinks from 4:30-6:30. Acoustic 
Rock faves.

 

FRI. 3/25 - SWING DANCE PARTY with FLAT TOP TOM & HIS JUMPCATS @ CAFE 322, 8 - 11pm. 322 W. 
Sierra Madre Blvd. 626-836-5414. Full bar, great Italian food, dance floor. 

 

SUN. 3/27 - “OPERA TO BROADWAY” VOCAL PERFORMANCES @ CAFE 322 IN SIERRA MADRE, 
7-10pm. 322 W. Sierra Madre Blvd. 626-836-5414. Full bar and great Italian food. Every Sunday evening. Get 
there early - they pack ‘em in! 

 

WED. 3/30 - LISA FINNIE & JOHN PALMER re-duet @ RED CARPET WINE & SPIRITS IN GLENDALE, 
7 - 8pm. 400 E. Glenoaks Blvd. Indoor musical delights and three-option tastings via the in-house Enomatics 
in the Red Carpet Wine Bar. Outdoor temptations available just outside courtesy of Vizzi Food Truck. www.
redcarpetwine.com

 

WED. 3/30 - The Mellow D’z @ Oceanview Bistro in Montrose from 7:30-10:00 PM. 3826 Ocean View Blvd. 818-
248-2722. Great food and drinks to go with cool acoustic jams. www.ovbistro.com

*****NOW ACCEPTING ENTRIES FOR THE 2011 DOO DAH PARADE! Parade Day is Saturday, April 
30th, 11:00am in East Pasadena. Be part of one of the most colorful and unique experiences around! Go to: 
pasadenadoodahparade.info -- and under “Entry Form” sign up now! Queen tryouts will be held on Sat. 4/2 @ 
the American Legion.

 

ADAMS’ PACK STATION at Chantry Flat, Angeles National Forest is now booking music for the Spring/
Summer season. Email Deb Burgess for info. dburgess@burcon-group.com (From the 210 Fwy in Arcadia/
Sierra Madre, Take Santa Anita Avenue North until it dead-ends at the parking lot.) Stay tuned to the Music 
News for artists, dates and times. JC Hyke, Jeannie Willets, 2 Frets Lower, Tom Renaud, Lisa Turner & Friends, 
Tim Tedrow and many more! 

 

Please remember to call and verify all info. before making plans. Everything is subject to change. This is show 
biz, after all... Hope to see you out & about, SierraMadreSue sierramadresue@yahoo.com 

Sean Kayden

Artist: Sun Airway

Album: Nocturne of Exploded Crystal 
Chandelier
Release Date: October 26, 2010

Label: Dead Oceans


The Book Report


The Alienist 

by Caleb Carr 

The year is 1896, the 
place, New York City. 
On a cold March night 
New York Times reporter 
John Schuyler 
Moore is summoned 
to the East River by 
his friend and former 
Harvard classmate Dr. 
Laszlo Kreizler, a psychologist, 
or “alienist.” 
On the unfinished Williamsburg 
Bridge, they view the dead body of an 
adolescent boy,and a prostitute from one of Manhattan’s 
infamous brothels. The newly appointed 
police commissioner, Theodore Roosevelt, in a 
highly unorthodox move, enlists the two men 
in the murder investigation, counting on the reserved 
Kreizler’s intellect and Moore’s knowledge 
of New York’s vast criminal underworld. They are 
joined by Sara Howard, a brave and determined 
woman who works as a secretary in the police department. 
Fast-paced and gripping, infused with 
a historian’s exactitude, The Alienist conjures up 
the Gilded Age and its untarnished underside: 
verminous tenements and opulent mansions, 
corrupt cops and flamboyant gangsters, shining 
opera houses and seamy gin mills. A great read!

The Warmth of Other Suns: The Epic Story of 
America’s Great Migration by Isabel Wilkerson 

In this epic, beautifully 
written masterwork, 
Pulitzer Prize winning 
author Isabel Wilkerson 
chronicles one of the great 
untold stories of American 
history: the decades 
long migration of black 
citizens who fled the 
South for northern and 
western cities, in search 
of a better life. From 1915 
to 1970, this exodus of 
almost six million people 
changed the face of America. Wilkerson compares 
this epic migration to the migrations of 
other peoples in history. She interviewed more 
than a 1000 people, and gained access to new 
data and official records. With stunning historical 
detail, Wilkerson tells this story through the lives 
of three unique individuals. Wilkerson brilliantly 
captures their first treacherous and exhausting 
cross-country trips by car and train and their new 
lives in colonies that grew into ghettos, as well 
as how they changed these cities with southern 
food, faith, and culture and improved them with 
discipline, drive, and hard work. Isabel Wilkerson 
won the Pulitzer Prize for Feature Writing for her 
reporting as Chicago bureau chief of The New 
York Times. The award made her the first black 
woman in the history of American journalism to 
win a Pulitzer Prize and the first African American 
to win for individual reporting.


GREASE 2011

Thursday, March 24th at 7:00 pm

Friday, March 25th at 7:00 pm

Saturday, March 26th at 7:00 pm

Sunday, March 27th at 6:00 pm

All performances will be held at

Pasadena High School - Gladiss Edwards Auditorium

2925 East Sierra Madre Blvd Pasadena

Pre sale ticket prices Adults $10.00

Students/Children $5.00

Ticket prices at the door Adults $12.00 Students/Children $7.00

To order your tickets please call (626) 396-5880 Ext. 84202