How Dare You Call Billy Bob Thornton An Actor! [Big Babies]

Actors who try to be in bands are often the biggest assholes of all actors. Billy Bob Thornton is no exception. He recently bitched at a Canadian radio DJ for calling him... an actor.

The genial Q TV host, Jian Ghomeshi, introduced Billy Bob as an "Oscar-winning screenwriter, actor, and director" when doing an interview with Thornton and his band The Boxmasters. And that ticked ol' Billy B. off something fierce.

He was first sullen and sulky, answering questions evasively, when he was answering them at all, but then the whole thing spun out of control. When pressed to answer a question about his musical influences, Thornton pissily, an inexplicably, compared himself to Tom Petty, then just acted like a petulant little baby. Basically because he felt that people weren't taking his precious, precious "cosmic cowboy music" seriously enough. It gets real weird and awkward about half way through.

On the Street......Spring Knocking, Paris

Scientists Isolate Molecules of Deliciousness in Chocolate and Bacon

Two of our loves, chocolate and bacon, have drawn the attention of the science set. Yesterday a Harvard professor unveiled a chocolate inhaler, and today the Boston Globe reports on MIT’s Laboratory for Chocolate Science. Engineers, chemists, and math majors discuss topics like how heating “chocolate too quickly can separate its molecules and cause it to become gritty” in between organizing weird flavor tastings (Marmite?) for the public, according to the Globe. Also this week, British scientists attributed the appeal of bacon to the “Maillard reaction,” which is simply a chemical release of a “huge amount of smells and flavours,” according to the London Telegraph. We propose new research into the effects of chocolate on bacon.

At MIT, a hunger for chocolate knowledge [Boston Globe]

Read more posts by Alexandra Vallis

Filed Under: bacon, chocolate, laboratory for chocolate science, sweet news

Russian Fetish

Dasha Zhukova is plenty busy with her much discussed new gig as editor of Pop. But that didn't stop the Russian impresaria from wrangling both David Lynch and Christian Louboutin all the way to Moscow for the opening of their Fetish photography and shoe exhibition at her Garage Center for Contemporary Culture. On Tuesday night, the Russian capital's chicest, along with Western transplants like Josephine de la Baume, Charlotte Sarkozy, Byrdie Bell, and Julia Restoin-Roitfeld, celebrated the collaboration with a traditional dinner at the Central House of Literature, one of the few restaurants in the city that still boasts its original pre-Communist decor. If most passed on a gray meat the English translation of which was "neck," the caviar went down easy, and everyone was impressed when a pack of performing gypsies busted out of a double door in the middle of dinner. The belly dancers had Louboutin on his feet, swinging this way and that—and perhaps too fast: Later, when he attempted to pound a shot, it somehow ended up pegging Sophia Hesketh in the head.

At speech time, Lynch declared, "Tonight is all about friendship." For her part, Zhukova added that the museum prides itself on blending the line between contemporary art and fashion. But when the mic was passed to Louboutin, the cobbler blushed. "We don't make speeches in France," he said. "But yeah, what they said: friends, fashion, and art." "Hey," Zhukova hollered, "he can't get off that easy."

Shilpa Ray - SXSW pics & 2009 tour dates (tonight @ DBA, a Pianos residency, CASTLE CLINTON & more)

photos by Bryan Bruchman, words by Andrew Frisicano

For others, the concerns are more about day-to-day practicalities. As South by Southwest has grown bigger and more decentralized - this year it has twice as many acts as in 2003 - bands have been adding more and more performances to their itineraries, hoping to register the most impressions on the crowd. Shilpa Ray, an unsigned Brooklyn singer with a powerfully raw voice and a fierce technique on the harmonium, has eight showcases lined up, and for her the big question is simply endurance.

"It's a challenge: how good of a musician are you?" she said. "I wonder if I can do it, if I can sustain my voice for so long and stay consistent."

For her showcase at Club de Ville on Wednesday night, the audience included at least one record executive who said he was competing with another label to sign her. But Ms. Ray, who canceled a tour to make it to Austin, said she knew that even with a record contract success was far from guaranteed. And besides, she added, she is fine with roughing it at South by Southwest.

"Maybe in the past there were your pampered rock stars hanging out," she said. "But then there's the people like us who climb out of clown cars and try to make things work." [NY Times]The Club de Ville show mentioned above was the Brooklyn Vegan SXSW showcase, where Shilpa performed at along with Bell, Loch Lomond, Those Darlins, Phosphorescent, and Deer Tick. It's also where the pictures in this post were taken.

Shilpa has a short spring tour scheduled for April. That includes two hometown shows: on Wednesday, April 8th, Shilpa Ray and Her Happy Hookers play Death By Audio (tonight) with Coin Under Tongue, My Education and Guisante. Then, they'll perform at a Benefit Concert For The Hearing Impaired at the Bell House on Wednesday, April 22nd with Depreciation Guild, Hooray for Earth, and Kino.

Shilpa also has a May Pianos residency on her schedule. She'll perform Wednesdays at the NYC venue, starting May 13th with Drink Up Buttercup, Wild Yaks & more.

Shilpa Ray is *also* on the bill for a Sly Stone Tribute Concert taking place July 16th at Castle Clinton. Presumably that will be a free show with a large cast of characters performing. Stay tuned for more details. All tour dates and more SXSW photos below...

Continue reading "Shilpa Ray - SXSW pics & 2009 tour dates (tonight @ DBA, a Pianos residency, CASTLE CLINTON & more) " at BrooklynVegan.com

Treasure Island festival to return to San Francisco

Light start for San Fernando Race

Boqueria Soho Introduces Sandwiches Para Llevar

Till now Despaña and Mercat were the only downtown spots where you could get damn good bocadillos to go, but this past week, Boqueria Soho jumped onboard the sandwich train by introducing a little thing known as lunch takeout. The part we’re especially excited about: A rotation of sandwiches, made with Grandaisy bread, that’ll change every month or so. Currently on offer: Atún (bonito tuna, egg, capers; $9), jamón (Serrano on Catalan tomato; $9), remolacha (roasted beets, egg, sheep's milk; $8), and pato (duck confit, fig, tetilla cheese; $10). Our order came with a little container of olives. Takeout is available till 5:30 p.m.; delivery is still in the works.

Read more posts by Daniel Maurer

Filed Under: boqueria soho, lunch, Menu Changes, sandwiches, soho, spanish, takeout

The world celebrates Holy Week

Magic moments in Europe

European travel guru Rick Steves says budget travel is more than simply saving money — it’s about maximizing experiences.