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CONCERT REVIEW: THE BILLY JOEL LEGACY: A TRIBUTE EXPERIENCE
by Michael McCarthy Last Friday night, September 18, 2026, my parents and I saw The Billy Joel Legacy: A Tribute Experience at Lynn Auditorium in Lynn, Massachusetts, and it was a rather invigorating show, to say the least. The set kicked off with an electrifying rendition of “My Life,” accompanied by video of an animated…
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MOVIE REVIEW: UNLEASHED SPIRITS: THE RISE OF THE HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES
by Michael McCarthy I recently had the opportunity to watch Unleashed Spirits: The Rise of the Hollywood Vampires, Daniel E. Catullo III’s new documentary feature about Hollywood Vampires, the supergroup featuring Alice Cooper, Aerosmith guitarist Joe Perry, actor/guitarist Johnny Depp and guitarist/music director Tommy Henriksen. The band’s touring lineup also includes keyboardist Buck Johnson, who…
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FLASHBACK: MICHAEL MCCARTHY’S 1997 INTERVIEW WITH BEN AFFLECK
by Mike McCarthy The following article was originally published in Cinezine in 1997 under the title Frank Discussion with Ben Affleck. Actor Ben Affleck recently held court (press day, that is) in Boston to promote Kevin Smith’s new film Chasing Amy, in which he stars as Holden, the guy who falls for a lesbian. You…
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SERIES REVIEW: SILO…AND HOW IT DRIVES THIS “CRITIC” INSANE (CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS)
by Michael McCarthy First of all, in case you’ve read the subject line too quickly, I would like to state again that this review contains major spoilers about the Apple TV series Silo. It is not my intention for people who’ve never seen the show to read this. Rather, my goal is simply to discuss…
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CONCERT REVIEW: ROBYN TRANSCENDS AT AGGANIS ARENA, BOSTON 9/3/26
by Michael McCarthy Please note: I could not find any videos from last night’s show on Youtube yet so I have included a few videos from Robyn’s recent European dates. Last night I attended Robyn’s show at Agganis Arena in Boston. I had previously seen Robyn live at the House of Blues in Boston in…
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REVIEW: KACEY MUSGRAVES IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE AT TD GARDEN: 8/28/26
by Michael McCarthy Last Friday night’s sold out August 28th Kacey Musgraves show at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts came just shy of two years since I’d last seen her live at TD Garden on September 6th, 2024. The difference is that in 2024, she performed two sold out nights at TD Garden but this…
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#INTERVIEW: CHRISTINE HÉLÈNE BRAA OF THE CARPENTERS SONGBOOK: A LIVE CELEBRATION
by Michael McCarthy There are plenty of tribute shows that attempt to recreate legendary artists right down to their clothes, mannerisms and stage movements. The Carpenters Songbook: A Live Celebration is taking a different approach. When vocalist Christina Hélène Braa takes to the stage this fall to sing classics like “(They Long to Be) Close…
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#songoftheday – ADRIENNE WARREN – “UNHOLY WATER”
by Michael McCarthy I’m going to be entirely honest here and tell you that Chat GPT introduced me to this song this morning. I was talking to it for my ideas about a book and we were talking about Bon Jovi and I said I wish Butch Walker would produce a Bon Jovi album. And…
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THREE KDRAMAS, THREE WAYS OF MIXING ROMANCE WITH GENRE: OUR STICKY LOVE, THE APARTMENT JOB & SPOOKY IN LOVE (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
by Michael McCarthy I recently finished watching two of the latest Korean dramas to hit Netflix, Our Sticky Love and The Apartment Job. I’m also currently watching Spooky in Love but the final episodes of that one haven’t been released yet. What all three of these shows have in common is that they blend different…
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CONCERT REVIEW: NELSON SPREADS BROTHERLY LOVE AT CITY WINERY BOSTON (8/7/26)
by Michael McCarthy Last night I saw Matthew and Gunnar Nelson perform at City Winery in Boston, Massachusetts. I’ve seen Matthew and Gunnar Nelson perform quite a few times during recent years. They frequently play The Wolf Den, the free club venue at Mohegan Sun Casino, but the last three times I saw them there…
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REVIEW: BON JOVI DELIVERS AT MADISON SQUARE GARDEN: 7/26/26
by Michael McCarthy On Sunday, July 26th, 2026, I finally saw Bon Jovi live again for the first time since Richie Sambora parted ways with the band in 2013. Honestly, when Richie left the band, I just found it so frustrating and depressing that I just needed a break from Bon Jovi. For one thing,…
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REVIEW: MELANIE MARTINEZ BRINGS HADES TO TD GARDEN: 7/21/26
by Michael McCarthy Photo Credit: All photos by Marcus Stevens // IG: https://www.instagram.com/marcus.stv (Note: these photos are from the NY stop of the tour.) On Tuesday, July 21st I finally saw alt/electro pop goddess Melanie Martinez live, catching her tour’s stop at Boston’s TD Garden. I’d been wanting to see her for years but, for whatever…
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#REVIEW: PUSSY RIOT: CYKA
If you like electronic pop music, I highly recommend the new album by Pussy Riot, the Russian protest group. The album is called CYKA, which Russian for “bitch.” Well, it’s Russian for bitch but saying it is also akin to saying fuck you. I had GPT translate a lot of the Russian lyrics after I…
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NETFLIX REVIEW: TEACH YOU A LESSON (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
by Michael McCarthy I recently decided to watch the Korean series Teach You A Lesson, which proved to be one of the most challenging series I’ve ever seen. For better or worse, this series seems to keep changing genres on you from one episode to the next. And it does it so often that you’re…
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CONCERT REVIEW: ST. VINCENT WITH THE BOSTON POPS (6/4/26)
by Michael McCarthy Last night I was fortunate enough to catch St. Vincent’s one off performance with The Boston Pops at Symphony Hall in Boston. The audience appeared to be a mix of St. Vincent fans and Boston Pops patrons, creating an unusual but welcome blend of concertgoers. The show was conducted by Jules Buckley,…
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REVIEW: EUPHORIA – SEASON 3 (CONTAINS SPOILERS)
by Michael McCarthy photos by HBO First of all, just in case you didn’t read the full subject line, I feel that I should begin this review but stating that it will contain major spoilers. If you don’t want to know about things like characters dying before you watch it, don’t read any further. Perhaps…
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CONCERT REVIEW: PENTAGRAM AT TAFFETA IN LOWELL, MA (5/23/26)
by Michael McCarthy Last night on May 23rd, 2026, I finally saw the influential doom metal band Pentagram in concert for the very first time. And it will likely have been the last time because the band’s current tour, The Last Rites Tour, is being framed as a farewell tour. And given frontman Bobby Liebling’s…
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NETFLIX REVIEW: KYLIE (DOCUSERIES)
by Michael McCarthy On May 20th, 2026, Netflix launched a new three-part docuseries about singer/actress Kylie Minogue, one of my favorite artists. I could try to pretend that I’m an unbiased journalist reviewing this, but I think my readers would see through that. I’ve previously disclosed that I’m a huge Kylie fan and I don’t…
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BON JOVI ISSUES REFUNDS FOR MSG NIGHT 8 – VERY CLASSY
by Michael McCarthy This morning the news has broken that Bon Jovi is issuing refunds for their July 23rd, 2026 show at Madison Square Garden. The show was cut short at 90 minutes after 14 songs because Jon had, as he later explained, “a sinus infection.” At the time, Jon told the audience, “Don’t throw…
Great review. Reminds me of your Cinezine days.
[…] and “inert” depending on the outlet. The most useful document from that period is the LoveIsPop review, a critic…
They are so so talented and just simply amazing. I look forward to seeing them again since the last time…
I think you mean complaint, not compliant. This was a great review. Awesome of them to show up even after…
Great band, damn fine documentary.