A show for the ’80s in 2014

Organizers said the gates to the Benny’s Lost 80s Bash would open at 4 p.m. last Saturday at Onondaga Community College. It was held inside instead of outside. It did rain that night, so that was a great move. But they made us stand in line until 5 before opening the doors. I’m at the…

‘Get on Up’ shows all sides of James Brown

When I saw James Brown listed for the main stage of Woodstock ’99 in Rome, N.Y., I made sure I was as close as possible in my role as music critic for the big daily. In fact, the promoters made him the opening act. The Hardest Working Man in Show Business, the Godfather of Soul…

A pretty little golf course in the city

When my wonderful daughter Elisabeth and her terrific boyfriend George and I decided it was time for some Sunday golf, I suggested the little city golf course that’s just two miles from our house in our Eastwood neighborhood. They’d already been to Sunnycrest’s sister nine-hole, par-three course, Burnet Park, so they were eager to try…

You can expect a pretty Wild West from Tarantino in 2015

Word was, Quentin Tarantino was pretty steamed when his script for “Hateful Eight” was leaked online. He threatened to scrap it. Pick something else for his eighth movie. Now word is that the movie is on, shooting will begin in January, and the release will come before 2015 becomes 2016. That could make lovers of…

Arts, crafts and the people who make them

People from more than 30 states and Canada descended upon downtown Syracuse last weekend for the annual Arts and Crafts Festival. The least my dear wife Karen and I could do was walk the streets around Columbus Circle when we got out of work last Friday night. I wanted to stock up on photos and…

One-hit wonders? No, they have more to deliver

Oh, the world of the one-hit wonder. How many bands would have killed for that single hit, that taste of fame, the bucks that may have come along with it. How many bands wave their hands at that notion, saying, we don’t measure our worth in mass popularity, maybe even making a bit of fun…

‘Lucy’ makes me use my brain, as limited as it may be

In “Lucy,” a big deal is made about how we all use 10 percent of our brain, maximum. And then some very evil folks figure a way to steal a drug that increases brain power. Accidents happen and Lucy, played brilliantly by Scarlett Johansson, becomes the one person on the planet becoming smarter and smarter…