Arts

Music

Expect a captivating performance from Sun Salon on Friday

By Abbie Klein | October 27

The local collective Sun Salon will be playing at the Fisher Performance Hall in the Granoff Music Center on Friday at 9 p.m. Sun Salon performs and records a unique combination of rapped poems accompanied by improvised jazz, and they’ve just released their first album, “Deep Space” (2023). On Oct. 17, the Daily spoke with Abraham “Abe” Brownell, the coordinator of the collective. In addition to organizing the group, Abe writes and performs poetry and plays lap steel guitar and mandolin. He also works at Tufts as the staff assistant in the Granoff main office.

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Theater

WEEKENDER: Tufts theatre department prepares for ‘Marie Antoinette’

By Nate Hall | October 26

For its fall production, the Department of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies is staging David Adjmi’s play, “Marie Antoinette” (2012). A contemporary take on the story of the young French queen who witnessed the country’s collapse into revolution in the late 18th century, the play reflects many of the challenges women face in the modern world.

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Arts

Łaszewo gives electric performance in Cambridge

By Natalie Bricker | October 26

Three-person electronic band Łaszewo (pronounced la-zay-woah) played an incredible show on Thursday in Cambridge at Sonia. The band’s energy was bubbly, fun and contagious, which was all the more impressive given that lead singer Keeva “Kiki” Bouley had recently fractured her ankle. Band members and producers Matt Ehrlich and Justin De La Fuente frequently hyped Bouley up, encouraging the crowd to chant “Kiki” and applauding Bouley’s ability to dance around while wearing a protective boot.

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Columns

The Power of the Pen: Why are the actors still on strike?

By Odessa Gaines | October 26

With the writers strike of 2023 over, the big question is: When will the actors follow suit and leave the picket lines? Even though both the writers and actors strikes started because of similar reasons, the two unions have had different levels of success in meeting their goals with the big studios. The actors strike, in particular, has continued because of disagreement surrounding increased actor residuals and the use of AI in film and television productions. 

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Arts

Couch connects with students on Tisch Roof in Coffeehouse series

By Matthew Winkler | October 25

On a weekday evening in the heart of midterms, music on Tisch roof brightened campus. Student band Freshman 15 drew in students and passersby with their loud, brassy sound, before a portion of Boston-based band Couch brought a relaxed and comfortable vibe fitting for TUSC’s Coffeehouse series.

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Columns

Confessions of a Cooking Fanatic: Sheet-pan fan

By Elizabeth Foster | October 25

As a senior, I’ve seen the wide range of what Tufts Dining is capable of and, more specifically, what the Tufts administration is willing to provide students with for their meal swipes (and how that has decreased over the years). But you know what doesn’t decrease over the years? The effort-to-yield ratio of a sheet pan meal.

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Columns

Attack of the B-Movies: The allure of the ‘Crash’

By Ethan Essner | October 25

In 1996, David Cronenberg released “Crash,” a film which transcended the characteristics of any preceding B-movie through its depiction of violence and sex. Inherently, every character in the film is an overstimulated, hypersexualized being coexisting in a crazy world of voyeurism and loneliness. In this vein, the film traces arousal and getting off through the sight of car collisions. Cronenberg's conscience functions here as a horny man looking to make a movie about sex, not romance. In this way, it truly is love at first crash.

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Columns

Compost in the Daylight: Crying on the Peter Pan

By Sadie Leite | October 23

“The last time I was on a public bus I was also crying.”

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Arts

Wes Anderson’s new Roald Dahl films are short and sweet

By Nate Hall | October 20

Roald Dahl is well-known for his beloved children’s stories, including“Matilda” (1988), “The Witches” (1983) and “The BFG” (1982),many of which have been adapted into popular films. Less famous, however, is his large catalog of short stories, some of which have now found their way to the screen thanks to director Wes Anderson.

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Theater

‘POTUS’ takes on the patriarchy with humor and wit

By Nate Hall and Odessa Gaines | October 20

It’s a normal day at The White House until the president, in a meeting with international diplomats, calls his wife a “c—t.” After controversy erupts, his chief of staff and press secretary are left to clean up the mess. This is the opening scene of “POTUS: Or, Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive” a political farce that just wrapped up a month-long run at the SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston. Written by playwright Selina Fillinger, the play follows seven women in the president’s inner circle as they navigate a day full of scandals that bring the country to the brink of crisis, combining over-the-top physical comedy with timely political commentary.

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Columns

Inside the MFA: What can the MFA do for you?

By Claire Wood | October 20

Although all Tufts students have free access to Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts, many forget to utilize the museum. The MFA houses almost 500,000 works of art across a multitude of ancient and modern collections. You can find art ranging from 6,500 B.C.E to even the 2000s. The museum is open every day except Tuesdays and is eager to welcome visitors with a variety of interests and needs. Regardless of what you’re looking for, the MFA has an incredibly diverse and expansive collection available to students.

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Arts

WEEKENDER: Religion in cisgender women’s and gender minority music

By Maeve Hagerty | October 19

“I’m not scared of god / I’m scared he was gone all along,” rising alternative artist Ethel Cain sings on the title track of her 2021 EP “Inbred.” The critical and popular success of Cain’s recent debut album “Preacher’s Daughter” (2022) landed her song “American Teenager” a spot on Barack Obama’s 2022 playlist and cemented her as a rising star of the indie/alternative music scene. But Hayden Anhedönia, who uses the stage name Ethel Cain, is only one singer within an increasingly popular phenomenon of cisgender women and gender minority artists producing music which deals directly and indirectly with themes of religious belief and trauma. They explore the manner in which Christianity specifically has influenced their lives and their music, with the result being something unexpected: The music resonates with a whole community of people whose relationships with their faith may not have always been easy.

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Columns

The Power of the Pen: What happens with the delays?

By Odessa Gaines | October 19

Although the writers’ strike has come to an end, its lingering effects, as well as the ongoing SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike, have caused many delays in television and movies. The strikes have not only caused delays in writers’ rooms, but also on sets and in promotional activities. By going on strike, the actors agreed to walk out of their current projects per SAG guidelines. As such, the cast of “Barbie” (2023) cut their promotional tour short on July 14 when the strike officially began.  

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Arts

‘Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour’ brings the cultural phenomenon to local theaters

By Shannon Murphy | October 19

For those who fell victim to the infamous Ticketmaster fiasco or simply want to relive one of the best nights of a Swifitie’s life, “Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour” (2023) has made it possible to see the singer and her enthralling masterpiece of a concert up close and personal. The stadium tour itself had an unprecedented cultural impact. More than half of U.S. adults consider themselves fans of Taylor Swift, according to a Morning Consult survey, with 16% of adults describing themselves as “avid” fans of the singer-songwriter, so it’s no surprise that the U.S. leg of the Eras Tour sparked a media frenzy. The demand for tickets was likely spiked in part by a collective yearning for live entertainment as it is Swift’s first post-pandemic tour. It is also her first tour after the 2018 Reputation Stadium Tour, since which she has released four albums: “Lover” (2019), “Folklore” (2020), “Evermore” (2020) and “Midnights” (2022). In the movie, Swift jokes about the stylistic range of these albums, claiming that people asked her if she would include all of them in her upcoming tour, making the concert “three-and-a-half-hours long.” Her response? “Yeah, that’s exactly what I’m going to do.” Swift’s concert is over three hours and 15 minutes and encompasses songs from nine out of her ten studio albums, while the film stands at two hours and 48 minutes.

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Arts

Maisie Peters ends her ‘Good Witch’ album tour with birthdays, inflatable letters, charisma

By Abbie Klein | October 17

“The Good Witch” (2023), Maisie Peters’ sophomore album, is catchy enough to make anyone want to get dumped just to have an excuse to listen to it on repeat. It’s the kind of music that could motivate even the most sullen person to get up and dance, and Peters’ live performance of the album did not disappoint. Maisie Peters concluded the first leg of her international tour, The Good Witch Comes To North America, with a sold out show at Roadrunner on Wednesday, Oct. 11. The 23-year-old, U.K.-based pop singer-songwriter has only been active for about seven years but already has a robust discography, opened for Ed Sheeran and now a No. 1 album on the U.K. Billboard under her belt.

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Arts

‘Percy Jackson and the Olympians: The Chalice of the Gods’ embraces old age

By Odessa Gaines | October 17

Fourteen years after the release of “The Last Olympian” (2009), Percy Jackson, Annabeth Chase and Grover Underwood are back for another quest — getting Percy into college. The book takes place after the events of the spin-off series “The Heroes of Olympus” (2010–14), and Percy and his friends are ready to move into the mortal world and live normal lives. Unfortunately for the half-bloods, Zeus has not let go of his vendetta against Percy, and this time it risks Percy’s future.

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Columns

Tok the Talk: Ruby Franke, the reality behind family vlogging channels

By Annika Pillai | October 17

Ruby Franke probably would not have seen the lights of superstardom, at least in the world of YouTubing, if it wasn’t for the major influx of family vlogging channels in the 2010s –– oh, and of course, the six children she paraded across the face of the internet, ignominiously, for years. Perhaps the strangest concave curve of the last decade is the rapid rise and painfully slow fall of family vlogging channels. For better or for worse, it’s hard to argue that there wasn’t a huge audience supporting family channels, including “The ACE Family,” “Bratayley” and “The LaBrant Fam.”

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Music

Próxima Parada’s Nick Larson opens up ahead of Wednesday’s show

By Matthew Winkler | October 16

One of the “next stops” of Próxima Parada will be at Brighton Music Hall in Boston this coming Wednesday. The band, based in San Luis Obispo, Calif., had a boost in success after their 2019 song “Musta Been a Ghost” went viral on TikTok in December of 2022. The band, whose name means “next stop” in Spanish and Portuguese, delights in bringing their uplifting and groovy vibes all over the country.

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Columns

Compost in the Daylight: A dead squirrel

By Sadie Leite | October 16

There’s a note on my phone and it’s titled “What’s Important.” I think every writer or young person who’s thought they’ve had a great idea has something similar. It’s tucked away on their phone or in a journal or on scraps of paper floating in an accessible area. Those pieces of words never get off that list though, so I thought it was time they did. Or at least mine did. Here are some of the things I’ve written down:

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Columns

I Can’t Think Straight: From the top

By Cole Reese | October 16

I’m gay. For anyone who has ever seen me in person, that’s probably not that much of a shocker. But even though I’ve been out since high school, there’s still a part of me that doesn’t feel right saying it. The part of me that hides itself deep down, protected by a flimsy fortress of blue nail polish from the Davis Square CVS and a Tinder account which I’ve deleted several times over.

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