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Massachusetts: You might be living in a red state if

31 signs that Scott Brown’s victory is changing the face of the commonwealth for the worse
Scott Brown’s Senatorial victory is merely the latest sign that red tides are creeping upon our once-progressive Commonwealth. Don’t believe us? Consider that Kenny Chesney sells out Gillette Stadium every summer, and, of course, that wealthy Republican presidential hopeful with the fantastic hair was recently our Governor.
By CHRIS FARAONE | January 25, 2010

Photos: Hot Stove Cool Music at the House of Blues

Tinted Windows, Low Anthem, Kay Hanley, and more, live at the House of Blues, January 9, 2010
Hot Stove Cool Music benefit show featuring Tinted Windows, State Radio, The Low Anthem, Kay Hanley, and more, live at the House of Blues
By MARY OUELLETTE | January 14, 2010

Let’s recap

Balls, Pucks, and Monster Trucks
With the decade drawing to a close, it's fitting to reconsider the moments and developments of the last 10 years that forever changed sports in Portland and New England.
By RICK WORMWOOD | December 30, 2009

Ten years of great sports

Boston's road from Loserville to Title Town
Moments after Adam Vinatieri's field goal split the uprights as the clock expired in the Louisiana Superdome on February 3, 2002, the streets of Boston were in bedlam. Drunk people dangled from trees and hung off lampposts. Motorists leaned on their horns. I saw a guy hug a cop
By MIKE MILIARD | December 22, 2009

Updike does death, R. Crumb does God, Vanity Fair does Proust

Gift books to savor
Trying to reach as broad a range of tastes and pocketbooks as possible, we this year scavenged everything from the front pages of the Onion to R. Crumb's genesis, to valedictory Updike. Stuff to read, stuff to look at, glossy pages and matte. Remember: be careful not to nick the pages or spill eggnog on them before you wrap. Happy holidays!
By PHOENIX STAFF | December 08, 2009

Goal rush!

How long can Boston's frenetic sports-media explosion last?
Get two journalists in a room these days, and before the conversation is five minutes old they'll probably be kvetching about the grim state of the news business. Unless, that is, they happen to be sports journalists, in which case the conversation will likely focus on how absurdly bright the future looks. Especially here in Boston.
By ADAM REILLY | December 02, 2009

In focus

‘Focus on Four’ is a sharp sampler
Photography has been New England’s greatest contribution to art of the past century.
By GREG COOK | October 29, 2009

Brokeback Jeter

Balls, Pucks, and Monster Trucks
The game was over, and fans were leaving Fenway.
By RICK WORMWOOD | October 28, 2009

How gay is Southie?

Once unthinkable, Boston’s most notorious neighborhood now sports a welcoming face. How the hell did that happen?
Welcome to the gayborhood.
By ERICA CORSANO | October 19, 2009

The politics of baseball in Boston

It's the Red Sox, stupid
You don’t need a fancy political-science degree to predict voter turnout in Boston city elections. All you need is a Red Sox postseason schedule (when applicable).
By CHRIS FARAONE | October 14, 2009

Rhode Island’s pride is showing

Finally, some good ‘news!’ Plus, Brown slips, the Patriots slide, and more
There was much to-do and flexing of cultural muscles and civic pride as Our Little Towne placed in the top 10 in many prestigious categories in Travel & Leisure magazine’s 2009 survey of “America’s Favorite Cities.”
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | October 16, 2009

Interview: David Cross

David Cross is not cross
"When people thought of stand-up in 1987, they thought of a guy with a skinny red tie and a jacket saying, 'What's the deal with blah, blah, blah?' "
By CHRIS FARAONE | October 07, 2009

Throwing strikes

Chuck Knoblauch chokes in the clutch. Plus, the SUNY-Binghamton story gets worse.
For us New Englanders, Chuck Knoblauch was always kind of tough to take.
By MATT TAIBBI | October 07, 2009

It's hip to be icosahedral

In a new book, Ethan Gilsdorf tracks his global quest to visit the holiest nerd-world sites
Be they beer geeks, comic-book geeks, or music geeks, nowadays people flout their geekdom proudly, even wearing it like a badge.
By MIKE MILIARD | October 05, 2009

Anarchists claim victory in G-20 marches

Protestors vs. Police
Safely home after protesting for two full days, and being among the first American civilians ever attacked with a sonic cannon, two Portlanders are calling their efforts a success.
By JEFF INGLIS | September 30, 2009

What's the scam?

Trying to bilk the Scientologists
Back on the morning of June 7, 1982, a man walked into the New York branch of the Middle East Bank on the 25th floor of a Madison Avenue office building and tried to deposit a $2 million check. The man, a native of the United Arab Emirates, left without completing the transaction.
By JIM SCHUH | September 28, 2009

A Tale of Two Towns

Renowned for its roguish history, Charlestown is finally getting Hollywood's attention
Charlestown was baptized in bloodshed. Yet this unique, fertile turf has been generally overlooked by Hollywood, which has preferred instead its old rival South Boston, the primary backdrop for Oscar winners Good Will Hunting and The Departed .
By CHRIS FARAONE | September 29, 2009

I remember when...

(Or at least I think I do)
It's been a while, and I've been here for all of it. These moments are what I remember best, and what I wish there was more evidence of.
By MARC SHEPARD | September 16, 2009

Where everybody knows its name

J.J. Foley's Celebrates its 100th
In describing the changes that have shaped the South End since Jeremiah J. Foley poured his first glass of whiskey there one century ago this month, one need not look far for metaphors.
By CHRIS FARAONE | September 09, 2009

Blowhard, interrupted

If Curt Schilling runs for Senate, will he keep his sports-media perch?
Former Red Sox great Curt Schilling isn't the only prospective US Senate candidate agonizing over whether to run for Ted Kennedy's old seat. But unlike some of his potential rivals the Bloody Socked One seems determined to share his Hamlet act with the biggest possible audience.
By ADAM REILLY | September 11, 2009

Michael Mazur, 1935 - 2009

Painter, printmaker, teacher, art historian, curator, political/social/arts activist, Red Sox and Celtics fan
"He was so alive ," a friend wrote to me a few days after Michael Mazur died, on August 18.
By LLOYD SCHWARTZ | August 27, 2009

Tormenting Teddy

Republicans threaten Kennedy reign
After 32 years in the US Senate, Ted Kennedy remains a force to be reckoned with, both for his legendary family history and his considerable accomplishments.
By BOSTON PHOENIX STAFF | August 26, 2009

Big story

Did the Globe drop the steroid ball?
On July 30, the New York Times revealed that David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez — heroes of the Red Sox' 2004 and 2007 World Series wins — are on the (supposedly) secret list of a hundred-plus major leaguers who tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) in 2003.
By ADAM REILLY | August 07, 2009

Interview: Michael Angelakos of Passion Pit

Cleaning up with this year's BMP winners
In 2008, Passion Pit won Best New Artist in our Best Music Poll.
By CARLY CARIOLI AND RYAN STEWART | October 01, 2009

Reconfiguring the Other Paper

The 'New' Urinal. Plus, Richard Walton on Frank Mccourt
Last Friday P&J noticed an article on the Providence Business News Web site concerning a major design change being planned by the Urinal. According to the source for the story, veteran BeloJo scribe and Providence Newspaper Guild president John G. Hill, the paper "is scheduled to announce a redesign of the newspaper in its print edition this Sunday."
By PHILLIPE AND JORGE | July 22, 2009

Low expectations

Talking Politics
There are some important qualities I'd like to see in the next governor of Maine. But they're all pretty boring. So let's get to what I wouldn't like to see.
By AL DIAMON | July 01, 2009

Living beyond their means?

The go-go '80s have receded into the oh-no aughties, but not everyone has gotten the memo.
I'm at Bond on a Thursday night, and it's simmering with testosterone and possibility. Spaghetti-legged cocktail waitresses coo at businessmen. Tables spill forth with bejeweled women speaking too loudly and young couples sipping Champagne.
By KARA BASKIN | June 17, 2009

Next level of fun

Gamers and the people who put up with them get nostalgic at Funspot
Gamers and the people who put up with them get nostalgic at Funspot
By DEIRDRE FULTON | June 10, 2009

Feel the beat

Odaiko New England turns 15, wails on huge drums
A single set of precise, thundering beats fills the modest rehearsal space of Woburn's American Chinese Art Society. The sound rattles the flooring and shakes my guts. It emanates from a petite woman holding two thick wooden sticks and walloping a pair of hip-high, double-headed wooden drums.
By ANNE VICKMAN | May 28, 2009

Sox trump comedy

Local Boy Does Better
"Being bitter is poison and bitter will kill you. Bitter is a root that will grow a poopy tree of death."
By SARA FAITH ALTERMAN | May 22, 2009