Katie Sisneros

If there has ever been a performer happier to be on the First Avenue stage than Will Sheff, I’ll eat my press pass. Psych! I have no actual press pass, and you won’t find a lead singer more excited to be on the main stage than Okkervil River’s. Sunday’s performance by the Austin-based band sticks out as my surprising and yet undeniable favorite of the past year. Opening for Okkervil River were Post-Wave Baltimore natives Future Islands and indie punk critics’ favorites Titus Andronicus.MORE »

I sat on a stool next to Growly McFurryPaws at the bar nearest his home. He frequents the bar, he said, because his depression has become too much to handle. "I just can't win, you know? I mean, don't get me wrong, I know most bears have it rough. We look super scary, and can't really help our baser instincts. Is it our fault that people are stupid enough to throw rocks at us in national parks, and then act all surprised when we chew on them a bit?" He took a sip from his double whiskey. "But I think it's particularly difficult being the only bear in the complete works of Shakespeare. There's a special sort of stress that accompanies that kind of fame." He laughed, a hollow emotionless laugh, and corrected himself. "I mean to say, infamy."MORE »

On our way to Gnomeo and Juliet, my friend Caitlin and I were fist-pumping to Journey. That's how excited we were to see an animated retelling of one of our most beloved stories. Both of us are Ph.D. students in early modern British literature, and we debated whether this fact would make us biased for or against Gnomeo and Juliet, an adaptation of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet starring—you guessed it—garden gnomes. As it turns out, our graduate education had little to no bearing on our opinion of the film. We both loved it for what it was: an adorable 3D CGI animated movie that tells a timeless love story.MORE »