Texarkana Entertainment Blog

The new Coen brothers film, “True Grit,” is something a little different for Joel and Ethan, filmmakers known for their dark humor, deadpan wit and eccentric characters in such films as “O Brother, Where Art Thou,” “Fargo” and my personal favorite Coen brothers movie, “Barton Fink.” Compared to many other Coen flicks, “True Grit” is fairly straightforward. For that, it’s refreshing.

This new film finds the Coens celebrating what makes the Western genre so special in the annals of American moviemaking: adventure, a true hero (heroine, actually), compelling villains and peculiar characters to meet along the route—even a noble horse. This homage includes loving attention to landscape and lonesome terrain; the Roger Deakins cinematography in “True Grit” captures gritty beauty. Some of the dark edges and bleak humor traditionally found in Coen movies are toned down, though certainly not lost. The casual, surprising violence that often splashes into their movies appears here, too, but doesn’t overwhelm the movie.

The strength of the film rests in how touching it is as a story of friendship and revenge. Hailee Steinfeld as Mattie Ross is a winner; her steely determination often carries the story and the young actress nearly steals the film from Jeff Bridges, perfectly cast as the boozing U.S. Marshal Rooster Cogburn. And Matt Damon as Texas Ranger La Boeuf proves once more that given good material he can shine. All three leads are perfect. It’s one of the year’s best movies—after “Inception” and “Exit Through the Gift Shop,” it’s right up there as one of my favorites. Go see it.

- Aaron Brand

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The Harlem Globetrotters returns to the Four States Fairgrounds in Texarkana on Feb. 1 as part of the legendary team’s “4 Times the Fun” World Tour. They’ll face the Washington Generals and introduce something new to the game: a four-point shot. Hoops fans should see some electrifying, long-range bombs landing. Players aiming for four points will shoot from a location 35 feet from the basket, well beyond the professional game’s three-point mark. For more information and ticket prices, check out the host venue Website: FourStatesFair.com.

- Aaron Brand

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Shortly before Christmas, I spoke with Celtic Crossroads producer Kevin Crosby in Ireland about the young group’s approach to traditional Irish music. They’ll head to Texarkana to perform on Jan. 13 at the Perot Theatre as part of the 2010-2011 Perot series from TRAHC. (Side note: Listening to their music definitely put me in a warm wintertime holiday mood.)

Though young in years (they average about 23 or 24 years of age, Crosby says), these vivacious and multi-talented men and women have a sense of the rich traditions Irish musicians established over the centuries. The “crossroads,” said Crosby, refers to the place between towns where the Irish heritage was celebrated and shared in the past. Listening to their music, it’s apparent elements of other musical traditions (bluegrass, for example) seep into that rich Irish musical history that informs their performances. They promise to bring us a lively show. Their Texarkana performance actually kicks off the Celtic Crossroads World Fusion Tour, which sees them traveling North America for four months. See them below in a promo photo and then in person live on the Perot stage. They’ll also be conducting an educational performance for local students the same day, discussing the more than 30 instruments with which they work their musicians’ magic. More info and tickets: TRAHC.org.

- Aaron Brand

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Local artist and Pleasant Grove High School art teacher Nicole Brisco recently had a first. The artist and her students have received plenty of accolades, but her work is now in the Arkansas Arts Center for the first time. Her mixed media piece “Industrial Revolution” is part of the 53rd Annual Delta Exhibition of Painting and Sculpture, which is on display at the Arkansas Arts Center through Feb. 20. The exhibit features regional contemporary works. If you’re in Little Rock and love art, consider checking it out. We interviewed Brisco recently about the honor. You can see our feature story here (and a submitted photo of the piece below): Local art teacher’s work selected for Delta Exhibition.

- Aaron Brand

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I’m working to finish up an end-of-the-year retrospective of the past year in local arts and entertainment. A lot of little things happened in the local arts and music scene this past year, but little stands out as huge news, which is perhaps a good sign of a still-vital and relatively steady arts and entertainment community.

The biggest news, as far as I’m concerned, is the passing of two people who were truly legendary to the local arts and entertainment communities: Jerry Atkins and Charles B. Pierce, a jazzman and a filmmaker. They both left indelible imprints on the Texarkana community, one through his love for jazz music and work as a local radio program host, the other as a movie director with the creature feature classic “The Legend of Boggy Creek,” a low-budget success story.

- Aaron Brand

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Last night’s eclipse – or this morning’s eclipse, rather – was truly spectacular to witness. Though my tired self is paying for it now, it was worth it to be humbled and awed by the grand scheme of nature and celestial bodies conspiring to bring this vision our way at such a moment in time. You could live many lives in succession and never see this again at such a spot: the winter solstice just days before Christmas and the new year. I nearly packed it in and went to sleep last night, but then around 12:30 a.m. I ventured out to stand beneath a cloud-mottled sky. Low, wispy clouds zipped past as if I stood on top of the world but they offered many glimpses of the beguiling moon. Looked as if someone up there slowly erased the moon sliver by sliver until it truly became a waning thing, then a crescent sailing the sky. Once the total eclipse took over, I went back in to assess my fuzzy photos, but coming back outside I saw this faint, round dab of dusky orange—just a glow hovering out there. Mesmerized. Goodbye, moon. Hello, eclipse. I thought of how small we are and then of how we are intrinsically, physically connected to all those molecules in a vast, vast world out there. Humbled and awed to my core. Then slowly a little white dab of glowing moon revealed itself. The moon erased and now reborn. That white dab grew until it resembled first a bone-white sliver cap, then a fatter and fatter real moon. Goodbye, eclipse. Good morning, moon, and welcome home.

- Aaron Brand

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1) Holiday happenings abound. They seem as plentiful as Christmas cookies and Hanukkah latkes now. Over the weekend I caught two theatrical shows: one was Downtown Youth Theater’s “A Christmas Carol” and the other was the Southwest Arkansas Arts Council’s “It’s a Wonderful Life: a Live Radio Play.”

Each production in its own way commented on the spirit of goodwill and family togetherness that we celebrate at this time of year. DYT staged the show in a larger space this year up at Williams Memorial United Methodist Church, giving the production more room to roam all over the church’s Wesley Hall; the action truly surrounded the audience for “A Christmas Carol.”  SWAAC created a lively show that felt like a total throwback to great radio days of old, complete with a wind machine on stage.

As well, TRAHC’s Holiday Arts Market Festival last Friday and Saturday at the Regional Arts Center featured unique, one-of-a-kind gifts. This year’s expanded market had even more artists participating, and it sure would be nice to see this event continue. There are not many chances to catch local artists and artisans selling their work in one space, and that makes the Holiday Arts Market Festival a valuable opportunity.

2) Sometimes it’s simply plain ol’ refreshing to hear some straight-ahead, down-home, and gritty rock and roll. So it was with the Dirty Streets, a fun and young three-piece outfit of rocksters hailing from Memphis, Tenn. They came through a week ago for a Fat Jack’s show. This crew is well worth seeing if you get a chance. In its own way, a perfect show for a post-Christmas parade Monday night.

3) Some funnymen return. Jesse Capps and the Black Justice League have performed comedy off and on here for a few years, and they were back on and having fun at a Hopkins Icehouse show last week. Deadpan dry humor, wild humor, extremely dark humor and all sorts of jokes for these fellas. Here’s hoping Capps and crew perform again sometime soon.

- Aaron Brand

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Congratulations to the David Crowder Band, whose frontman grew up right here in Texarkana. The band was nominated for Best Rock or Rap Gospel Album for their work “Church Music,” which was released in the fall of ’09. The 53rd annual awards are scheduled to be broadcast on Sunday, Feb. 13. The 17-song album is out on sixsteprecords.

- Aaron Brand

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Several months ago we profiled local metal band Sylo (they were called Psylo at the time but have since changed the spelling) in our Accent pages of the Gazette. They were in the process of recording a new single and album at the time, and now word comes that the Texarkana metal band just landed some good news. According to a representative for the band, Sylo will play the Fort Worth, Texas, date on the “Slave to the Metal” winter tour. The show is Tuesday at Ridglea Theater. “Slave to the Metal” is hosted by FUSE TV’s Mistress Juliya and Jenn City. “Slave to the Metal” gives unsigned bands a chance to get some stage presence in the limelight. Congratulations are in order for the Sylo fellas; hopefully this gives them good exposure to new listeners. They’ve also released their single, “Psyklops.” Check it out: Covered Bridge Records Sylo Website.

- Aaron Brand

Staff photo by Eric J. Shelton. Heavy metal band Sylo performs at Club Next in Texarkana.

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It feels right to honor writers for their hard work, artful words, and honest thoughts. Surely they are qualities to be commended. TRAHC did just that Thursday night at the Regional Arts Center at The Seventh Annual WRITE! on Art Competition. Writers in recent months penned poetry and prose inspired by the recent “CHAIRS” exhibit at the RAC, and scribes from the 7th and 8th grade, high school, and university/adult divisions were all honored (first place winners received a $100 savings account with Red River Federal Credit Union). Most of them read from their work (kudos to those who had the guts to do so) during the awards ceremony. Here are the winners:

7th/8th Grade Poetry:

First Place: Garrett Mitchell, Pleasant Grove Middle School – Second Place: Kaniyah Breakfield, North Heights Junior High School – Third Place: Chase Denson, Pleasant Grove Middle School

7th/8th Grade Prose:

First Place: Alyssa Daniel, Pleasant Grove Middle School – Second Place: Holly Stouffer, Pleasant Grove Middle School – Third Place: Josh Altenbaumer, Pleasant Grove Middle School

High School Poetry:

First Place: Haley Rushing, Texas High School – Second Place: Catherine Stephenson, Texas High School – Third Place: Robert Stoeckl, Texas High School

High School Prose:

First Place: Lindsey Gore, Texas High School – Second Place: Madeleine Rostollan, Arkansas High School – Third Place: Dana Hosey, Texas High School

University/Adult Poetry:

First Place and Second Place: Shaundala Summers – Third Place: Hillary Atwood, Texas A&M University—Texarkana

University/Adult Prose:

First Place: Rhonda Wortham, Texas A&M University—Texarkana – Second Place: Relinda Ruth, Texas A&M University—Texarkana – Third Place: Lauren Caraway, Texas A&M University–Texarkana

- Aaron Brand

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