Thurs. Jan. 15Rasputina probably started this whole classical-rock-cello-based fusion back in the '90s. It wasn't a bad idea then or now. Locally, the Cello Chix - cellists Susanna Porte and Becca Thornblade and. well, we understand they're auditioning new drummers to take over from Nancy Delaney - are what you want to hear when you want to hear some of your classic rock tunes done with some elegance, some panache, and some humor. They'll be at the Alchemist Lounge Thursday Jan. 15. They'll do Sunshine of Your Love, Come Together, The Ocean, Light My Fire, Paint It, Black and a whole lot more. New in the repertoire: Led Zep's Kashmir. Now, that's classic rock. These gals, which began in 2002, have solid classical cred, too, so there's always that option, too. Which is to say they might play songs written before Led Zeppelin hatched. Show starts at 10. No cover.435 S. Huntington Ave., 617-477-5741 www.alchemistlounge.com

Thurs. Jan. 8th The biggest band on the Cape - well,they certainly have a lot of players - is back at the Lizard Lounge Thurs. Jan. 8. This wild bunch is known as the Chandler Travis Philharmonic. What gives the CTP its appeal? Says Travis: The Chandler Travis Philharmonic is a band that has grown accustomed to being detained. Their magical mixture of Ray Davies' steadfast provinciality, Charo's gelatinous combustibility and Hopalong Cassidy's swarthy good looks has been drawing the kind of crowd that prefers unpredictability to being set aflame and cast into a pit of angry rodents. Some of this maybe true, some not. Travis continues, The band is concentrating more lately on frolics, rhumbas, and indecipherable mumbling, and that the horn section (the June Trailer Dancers, led as always by maverick saxophonist Mark Chenevert), has been paying a lot more attention to its gardening, despite the nasty weather. The band has just come off the cancellation of a tour to Memphis, in which they almost played in Washington DC, Asheville, NC, and Worcester, MA; as usual, the condition of drummist Rikki Bates is described as stable, with squirrels. Do you need more enticement? Let's just say jazz, pop, lounge music and all kinds of genres get scrambled up in the CTP's hands and the singer can be counted upon to be barefoot and pajama clad. Ready for bed it migh seem, but not really: This is his stage uniform. He's ready to perform. Should get under way around 10 with Kami Lyle. Tickets: $6. For details about this special show, hit read more 1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-547-0759 www.lizardloungeclub.com

Remember the Miami-based gig DJ Samantha Ronson and her crimson-haired gal pal Lindsay Lohan were heading to on Dec. 29 in preparation for their big New Year's Eve bash sponsored by SoBe Lifewater at Miami's Mansion?

Well, all hell broke loose at the party, writes gossip wrangler Perez Hilton.

Ronson. slotted to spin on Wednesday, Jan. 21 for the Winter White Party at The Estate in Boston, fought with a "really unstable" Lohan who allegedly flipped out in front of partygoers. The spat reportedly spilled out into an alley behind the club where one source says Lohan screams, "When I storm off, you are supposed to follow me."

At their Miami hotel, sources claim, "They were punching each other-- it was bad. And they were doing this in front of all of us. It was scary."

And, at one point, Lohan allegedly drops to her knees and cries, "Why are you doing this to me?" Ronson supposedly responds, "I don't know you."

No word if Lohan will make the trek to Boston on Jan. 21 to stand by her girlfriend. However, if their NYE spat is a precursor of things to come, let's hope the fallen child star drama stays home.

Click here for the lowdown. Tickets are $20 a pop.Boston-based pop culture blog focusing on the controversial voices who fuel the local news, media, arts, film, politics, music, LGBT and comedy scenes.

After a three-alarm fire engulfed Atlantic Fish Co. and the ceiling of Crate & Barrel on Boylston Street on Saturday, Nov. 15, the future of the popular Back Bay eatery looked uncertain after the blaze caused an estimated $1.6 million in damage.

Crate & Barrel, located at 777 Boylston Street, amazingly reopened on Nov. 28 just in time for holiday shopping.

Now, after extensive repairs and displaced restaurant workers were shifted to other Boston-area locales during the holidays, Atlantic Fish Co. plans to reopen Wednesday, Jan. 14.

"We appreciate your patience and concern as we have undergone major repairs due to a fire in an adjoining building," the Web site explains here.

The fire, which reportedly began with an electrical short-circuit in the third-floor ceiling of the three-story Crate & Barrel building, spread throughout the furniture store above the Atlantic Fish Co. which extends above the restaurant on the second and third floors.

Atlantic Fish Co., located at 761 Boylston Street, will officially open its doors for dinner on Jan. 14 and resume normal business hours on Thursday, Jan. 15.

Click here for details.Boston-based pop culture blog focusing on the controversial voices who fuel the local news, media, arts, film, politics, music, LGBT and comedy scenes.

Thurs. Jan. 22It hasn't exactly been 16 straight years of rock 'n' roll, but the Boston band The In Out first formed in 1992, assembled by singer-guitarist Todd Nudelman. Various players have passed through the portals and the band has been on hiatus a few times, but it's up and running now with the rhythm section of Nick Blakey (bass) and Nick Adkins. (Nick also drummed for The In Out from 1998-2000.) We've heard them as a deliriously cranky, Fall-like outfit, which is to say just off-kilter enough to entice. On their myspace.com page, where you can hear four songs, they file themselves under the Mexican/Rock/Progressive slot. Hmmm. Ask Nudelman today and he describes The In Out's music as post-millenial web surfer minimalism. They're at Great Scott Thursday Jnn. 22 with the Spanish Armada, Contranauts and the Hangman's Alphabet. Doors at 8, tix $8. 1222 Commonwealth Ave., 6717566-9014 www.greatscottboston.com

It's going to be a busy month for the Massachusetts Film Office and executive director Nicholas Paleologos. On Saturday, Jan. 24 from 9:30 a.m.-3 p.m at the Sheraton Boston Hotel, the MFO hosts a day-long series of seminars for those interested in breaking into the booming film industry in the Hub.

From 10 a.m.-1o:45 a.m. it's "Lights, Camera, Action!" where attendees get the lowdown from those on the front line. And then there's "The Union Label" from 11 a.m.-11:45 a.m. on how to rise from the ranks of low-budget work to blockbuster films. The afternoon boasts a session on the new sound stages (Plymouth Rock Studios and the proposed SouthField Studios in Weymouth).

“The point of trying to attract all this business to Massachusetts isn’t simply to have Bruce Willis, Leonardo DiCaprio or Mel Gibson in town," Paleologos recently told the Herald. "The point is to have as many people working and as many people selling stuff as possible."

Tickets are $10. Click here for details.

On Saturday, January 31 kicking off at 7 p.m. at the The Castle at Park Plaza, 130 Columbus Ave., the MFO hosts a Frank Sinatra-inspired "Massachusetts Film Industry 2008 Wrap Party." Tickets are $70 and click here for details.

Paleologos is slotted to speak at the breakfast forum of the Greater Newburyport Chamber of Commerce on Thursday, Jan. 8. The forum will be held at the Mission Oak Grill, 26 Green St. in Newburyport. Tickets are $25 for the general public. Click here for details.

In other MFO news, Palelogos spills to the Herald that he hasn't heard a peep from Jennifer Lopez's camp over at Yari Film Group regarding her role in the upcoming made-in-Boston flick "The Governess." The picture, scheduled to begin filming this month, may be in jeopardy after the YFG was forced into Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Click here for the backstory.Boston-based pop culture blog focusing on the controversial voices who fuel the local news, media, arts, film, politics, music, LGBT and comedy scenes.

Thurs. Jan. 8 Don't you love a great genre scramble. P-Funk is one of the best of this ilk and has been for decades, but it's always nice to see newer bands toss a whole pile of ingredients into their stew and pull if off. And with that: We bring you the 11-piece Grammy-nominatd Grupo Fantasma, which - if you want to put a peg on 'em - sounds a lot like early Santana on their new album Sonidos Gold. (Their Grammy nod is for Best Latin Rock or Alternative Album. Huh?) Often, when we write shorthand stuff about a band, we'll say it's led by someone - usually the lead singer, in this case Jose Galeano, who also plays timbales. But this Austin, Texas-based band really is a group effort, propelled very much by the spirited horn section. You'll hear cumbia, funk, hip-hop, salsa and psychedelia. And there's a irreverence here, a carnival atmosphere that we're pretty sure will make itself clear at the Middle East Downstairs Thursday Jan. 8, one of the band's four northeast dates. Todd Lovoie of the San Francisco Bay Guardian calls the live show complete and utter sweat-soaking bliss. Another guy we admire for his work with the wholly irreverent Dead Milkmen back in the '80s, Rodney Anonymous says, You haven't lived until you've seen these guys come out of a Tex-Mex drum solo into Led Zeppelin's 'Moby Dick.' With the Occidental Brothers Dance Band International. Doors at 9, tix $12.472 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-864-3278 www.mideastclub.com

Tues. Jan. 13 If you don't want a wild one/Quit hangin' 'round with me, sings one of the three gals who goes by the surname Darlin. Later, another (the same?) Darlin sings, I'm drivin' nails in my coffin/Every time I drink a bottle of booze/I'm drivin' nails in my coffin/Though I'm drivin' those nails over you. And then there's a song that proclaims proudly, but with some shame, that one of Those Darlins ate a whole damn chicken. Not just the leg/Not just the wing/The whole damn thing! They blame it on the booze. Those Darlins are bassist Kelley Darlin, guitarist Jessi Darlin and Nikki Darlin on, yes, baritone ukulele. You'd probably call 'em an alt-country group, but the Darlins opt for pop/2 step/garage on their myspace page. By picking the same last name, the mini-skirted Darlins, of course, reference the brothers Ramone. A gang. In it together. All equal. As Kelley says, “I think we approach things in a unique way, a very egalitarian way, where there’s not the lead singer and ego and all that.”Or as Nikki puts it, “We perform, the three of us, and we’re straight in a row on the front of the stage. No one’s holding back.” I'd say that punk rock informs their attitude, but this trio from Murfreesboro, Tenn. - which has a drummer of indeterminte gender somewhere in the mix - is a country group in the same way the Knitters is a country group. They're at Toad Tuesday Jan. 13 at 8. It's free. They return to the Paradise March 1, presumably after their album produced in New York by Jeff Curtin comes out. It won't be free.1920 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, 617-497-4950 www.toadcambridge.com

Thursdays in January Guggenheim Grotto - a trio from Ireland, Kevin May, Mike Lynch and newcomer drummer Shane Power - began as what you might call a folk-pop duo. That sound is still at the core of what they do, but on their second disc, Happy the Man - due out Jan. 27 - they explore subtle electronics and sampling techniques as well. They're not Daft Punk or KMFDM, by any means. And they certainly move at a slow-to-mid-tempo pace. But if their debut, ... Waltzing Alone, was noted for its mellowness, this one will be noted for is measured upbeat sound and feel. This despite, well, you know, the sadness all around us. There's a lyrical thread throughout the album, says primary songwriter May, in that many of the songs explore our habit of holding onto things - lovers, a place in time, resisting change - and the sadness that brings us. That hit us is the gut and in the head - 2008 was certainly the kind of year where more than a few of us wanted to hold onto things that were slipping away. But Guggenheim Grotto doesn't wallow in the sadness. They start Happy the Man with a quote from Buddha on perfection, and then move on to detail what isn't. Like dreams dashed. But it's not angry music, it's pretty, softish; there's a gentle uplift that works an effective contrast. We wanted to sing joyfully about sadness in the world, is the way May puts it. With this album, I made a conscious effort of working in ideas, thoughts and musings on self-awareness and enlightenment into the songs. GG has had four US tours and they're in the midst of a residency tour (New York, Philly and Cambridge) that has them at the Lizard Lounge every Thursday in January. They're early (7 p.m.) shows at its only $5. Consider it money well gambled. Reference points: Damien Rice and (from Once ) Glen Hansard. 1667 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge 617-547-9729 www.lizardloungeclub.com

Mon. Jan. 19 One of our favorite programming devices or hooks is the Cooldige Corner Theatre's longrunning series, Science on Screen. Generally speaking, they show a film with science (or science fiction) at its core and bring in an expert to discuss the science, or lack thereof, going on up on screen. Something different is happening in the series Monday Jan. 19 at 7. The movie is Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey. Boston rock fans may be aware of several bands that have employed this ancient, sometimes eerie and unpredictable instrument in their songs. Over the years, the ethereal, otherworldly sounds of the theremin became the backdrop to scores of science fiction and horror films (particularly in the ‘50s), and have inspired numerous musicians, from the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson to synthesizer pioneer Moog. Director Steven Martin's documentary,deftly explores the remarkable story of Theremin the man, and traces the lasting influence of his work. Leon Theremin pioneered the idea of the artist as scientist, Martin said of his film in a Billboard magazine interview. I just want to see the creative journey of a great man come full circle.

ongoing When I first heard about the plot of Slumdog Millionaire - a young poor man goes on India's version of Who Wants to Be a Millioniare? and wins it all - I thought: Look, I didn't like the damn show much when it was on every night all week (or close to it) and what would make me want to revisit a story keyed around the show - Indian, America - whatever? Well, turns out a lot. First hint: It was directed by ace Brit Danny Boyle ( Trainspotting, 28 Days ) and the man is a master of shuffling time frames as well as comedy and drama. (Was there nothing funnier than Trainspotting fishing-the-drugs-out-of-toilet scene and nothing more awful than the results of heroin addiction?) Boyle has those kind of abilities, to pull you into another world (in this case the realm of richness, poverty and crime in India) and mix humor, love, violence and narrative in a way that makes you feel for everyone involved.

English is a good language because you can make up words by combining existing ones. Denmark’s The Raveonettes know this: their stage name is a combination of Phil Spector’s darlings The Ronettes, and Buddy Holly’s jam “Rave On”. This wordplay reflects The Raveonettes’ ability to cut up vintage American rock sounds, and twist them into [...]

Paul Lewis, an English professor at Boston College, tells USA Today in a recent interview why he plans to duke it out for bragging rights to Edgar Allen Poe's geographic legacy at "The Great Poe Debate" held at the Philadelphia Free Library on Tuesday, Jan. 13.

"He is arguably — I'm not saying everyone would accept this — the most influential writer who was ever born in Boston, and we should celebrate it," he says.

Born in Boston on Jan. 19, 1809 and buried in Baltimore (where he died in 1849 under mysterious circumstances), Poe's legacy will be celebrated in a slew of East Coast cities in January to commemorate the bicentennial of his birth.

Of course, the master of the macabre and author of "The Raven" and "The Tell-Tale Heart" will be commemorated by his hometown crowd ... even though he notoriously detested Boston.

Here's the lowdown:

* 7:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 15--Program with lectures by writers Matthew Pearl and Scott Peeples, reading of Poe passages, performance of creative work by Boston College students and a Poe birthday cake, Devlin Hall 101, Boston College, Chestnut Hill Campus.

* 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 16-- Screening of the film "The Last Days of the Raven," followed by Q&A with co-director, screenwriter and star Brent Fidler, Devlin Hall 101, Boston College, Chestnut Hill Campus.Boston-based pop culture blog focusing on the controversial voices who fuel the local news, media, arts, film, politics, music, LGBT and comedy scenes.

Saturdays, Jan. 10 - April 25 A while ago, we were channel surfing late at night and caught one of those condensed Saturday Night Live re-runs. This one featured the skit where four diners were enjoying - mild word - a tasty chocolate treat at a restaurant. As the skit progressed, the diners kept topping each other regarding just how damn delicious it was. It moved from orgasmic to plate-smashing ecstasy and was both a poke at chocoholics and an ode to the love of the dessert. We can relate. If you can, you'll be heartened to know that the One Only Boston Chocolate Tour returns to satisfy New England's collective sweet tooth every Saturday through April 25. You'll hit Top of the Hub, the Omni-Parker House, the Langham - and new this year - Beacon Hill Chocolates. The bus leaves at 11 a.m. and 12:15 (all right, they're two separate buses), with the cost being $80/person.Boylston and S. Charles streets, 617-269-7010. www.historictours.com (http://www.historictours.com/)

Fri. Jan. 9 The Huntington Theatre has major success with a one-day/deep discount sale last year, and the American Repertory Theatre (A.R.T.) is doing so this year, Friday Jan. 9. They will offer $25 tickets during for early performances of each production of the current season. “Given the challenging economic climate, we want to give the opportunity for price conscious patrons to be able to attend the A.R.T. at a lower price. We don want them to miss our exciting upcoming offerings – a world premiere, two classic masterpieces, and a no-holds-barred comedy,” says Ruth Davidson, A.R.T.’s Director of Marketing and Communications. The remaining productions of the Season are Anton Chekhov’s The Seagull, directed by János Szász; Samuel Beckett’s Endgame, directed by Marcus Stern; the world premiere of Trojan Barbie by Christine Evans, directed by Carmel O’Reilly; and David Mamet’s Romance, directed by Scott Zigler. Hit the read more button for details on the plays and which shows are available on the cheap.

The made-in-Boston horror thriller "The Box," starring Cameron Diaz and James Marsden and directed by "Donnie Darko" filmmaker Richard Kelly, is being scored by Canadian indie band Arcade Fire.

Lead singer Win Butler spills the news to Pitchfork. "Yes, me, Régine and Owen [Pallett] from Final Fantasy [did the music]," he says here. "It's kind of Hitchcocky, movie, orchestral, Mellotron stuff. It's instrumental music. No songs. It's interesting."

Arcade Fire's Butler continues, "We didn't really think we were going to do the whole thing, and then it just kind of was easier once we got in. It was like, 'Oh well, we'll just keep going.' It has so much to do with the editing, and your job is just to help the director. It's a very different experience."

Rumors have circulated for months after Kelly made an obscure reference on his MySpace blog. "We're starting to work with a very famous band who is honoring us with being the first filmmakers they've ever scored a film with," he writes on May 12, 2008.

As previously reported in Loaded Gun, "The Box" has been postponed to coincide with next year's post-Halloween weekend.

Originally slotted for release on March 20, 2009, Warner Bros. moved the film's launch to Nov. 6, 2009.

Based on the short story by Richard Matheson, "The Box" stars Diaz as Norma Lewis and James Marsden as Arthur Lewis, a suburban couple with a young child who receive a simple wooden box as a gift, which bears fatal and irrevocable consequences.

A mysterious stranger, played by Frank Langella, delivers the message that the box promises to bestow upon its owner $1 million with the press of a button. But, pressing this button will simultaneously cause the death of another human being somewhere in the world ... someone they don't know.

Also shot in Virginia, filming locations for "The Box" include the Boston Public Library, Castle Hill in Ipswich and South Boston.

Click here for the latest on "The Box."Boston-based pop culture blog focusing on the controversial voices who fuel the local news, media, arts, film, politics, music, LGBT and comedy scenes.

With the recent barrage of made-in-Mass. films and TV productions as well as two film studios in Plymouth and Weymouth hitting the Hub, Jennifer Silverstein and her boat-enthusiast husband had an epiphany.

“It was like ‘Eureka!’” she tells the Patriot Ledger. “These people are going to need boats."

Silverstein launched The Boat Wranglers, a casting agency of sorts looking to connect TV production companies and advertising firms with a slew of rare and traditional water-faring vessels and other marine-related services.

Similar to her talent scout counterparts who search for film and TV actors and extras, Silverstein maintains a database of snapshots and video of all types of boats that look good on film.

“We have people send us their boats on video, different photographs--anything people could to give a good visual concept of the boat,” she adds.

Meanwhile, The Boat Wranglers snagged their first client in October, an Animal Planet production company searching for a whaling vessel for the reality show "Whale Wars."

Click here for the lowdown on The Boat Wranglers.Boston-based pop culture blog focusing on the controversial voices who fuel the local news, media, arts, film, politics, music, LGBT and comedy scenes.

The triple-decker apartment located at 56 Tuttle St. in the Savin Hill neighborhood of Dorchester where 20-year-old Daniel Yakovleff was found brutally murdered in the early morning of Jan. 17, 2008 was engulfed in flames yesterday morning.

According to a report here, two residents of the building were trapped while neighbors grabbed a ladder and raised it to the third-floor porch. No one was seriously hurt in the three-alarm blaze. Damage is estimated at $500,000 and 90 firefighters battled the apartment blaze.

The cause of the fire? An electrical short circuit on the first floor fueled the inferno. Click here for video of the fire.

Yakovleff was brutally murdered in the Savin Hill apartment in Dorchester last January and his alleged killer, Steven Odegard, who he met at the Eagle bar in the South End is currently incarcerated awaiting trial scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 5.

Click here for the latest on the Yakovleff investigation.Boston-based pop culture blog focusing on the controversial voices who fuel the local news, media, arts, film, politics, music, LGBT and comedy scenes.

"It honestly came from me first saying I wanted to do a 'CHiPs' type of thing, being in a cop uniform and having authority and trying to be a bad ass."

--Kevin James spills while on the set of the made-in-Massachusetts film "Paul Blart: Mall Cop" at the Burlington Mall.

“It was historical from two points of view. Number one, it hadn’t been done before. It was an unprecedented opportunity to examine a former president about the central event of his presidency. And number two, it worked."

--Robert Zelnick, a journalism professor at Boston University's College of Communications, chats with the Boston Herald about his behind-the-scenes role orchestrating the historic interviews with British talk-show host David Frost and former president Richard Nixon which serves as inspiration for the film "Frost/Nixon."

"There is a woman that is murdered on a bridge. But that's all I can say, I can't give it all away!"

--Mark Hankey, an associate producer for the TNT pilot "Bunker Hill" starring NKOTB Donnie Wahlberg, tells the Daily Item in Lynn that the Charlestown-set pilot is based on the story of Charles Stuart, a Boston man who murdered his pregnant wife and inflamed racial tensions in 1989 after blaming a non-existent black suspect.

"He used to do the schedules in pen, but he did mine in pencil because I was always one step away from being taken out."

--Comedian Dane Cook jokes back in 2006 how his half-brother Darryl McCauley, who was arraigned in Woburn District court for embezzling $10 million since July 2007, was his manager at Burger King.

"There are only several famous actors in the business that can pull off this specific role and Madsen is one of them. I guarantee you if Michael Madsen is cast in the film you will see nothing less than a Oscar-worthy performance."

--Mike O'Dea, a Boston-based writer and actor who earned regional ink back in 2007 while shooting his low-budget flick "Townies," says that he's approached actor Michael Madsen's reps for the mob boss role of "Fitz" in the upcoming made-in-Boston flick "Code of Silence."Boston-based pop culture blog focusing on the controversial voices who fuel the local news, media, arts, film, politics, music, LGBT and comedy scenes.