A wide-ranging but remarkably intimate account of a legendary music hall.
A comprehensive history of one of America’s most storied concert venues by its owner and founder, Oelze, and music writer Moore.
This detailed history opens with a thoughtful foreword by music critic Buzz McClain, who celebrates Oelze’s ownership of the Birchmere, a well-known music club in Alexandria, Virginia, since the mid-1970s. Over the course of the book, readers will recognize dozens of household names who graced the hall with their presence, from Joan Baez to Ray Charles, Chick Corea, and Herbie Hancock, but the venue itself always remains the star of the show. In the opening chapters, the authors describe the Birchmere’s early history, starting in the 1940s, when it was an “unassuming suburban neighborhood restaurant,” to when it became a fully fledged music space in the late ’60s where one could see bluegrass acts and burgeoning stars, such as Linda Ronstadt. Interspersed throughout these detailed descriptions of nights at the Birchmere, the authors regale readers with anecdotes of famous visitors, including some who weren’t professional musicians; once, President Bill Clinton, on the advice of Vice President Al Gore, went to hear Jerry Jeff Walker play on a Thursday night in 1993, during the early days of his presidency. For music aficionados, the work will serve as an encyclopedic trove of information—not only about major musicians of the second half of the 20th century, but also about the low-key charms of club life, which faced growing competition from arenas and stadiums as time went on. Although readers may be attracted by the accounts of the stars on the Birchmere stage, the most impassioned writing here centers on Oelze’s expert management of the club he loves; as he wryly comments, “Everybody knows how to run the Birchmere. They’ve been telling me how to do it for 55 years.”
A wide-ranging but remarkably intimate account of a legendary music hall.Pub Date: Nov. 10, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-64718-969-3
Page Count: 502
Publisher: Booklocker.com
Review Posted Online: Dec. 10, 2021
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A fascinating and funny look at the life of a famous actor who found further fulfillment through giving back.
The actor discusses his career on the stage and in film, and his life focusing on the value of art and public service.
Now 66, Stern, perhaps best known for his roles in Home Alone and City Slickers, is no longer "the precocious teenager who moved to New York as a seventeen-year-old, at least ten years younger than all of my friends, the youngest dad at all my kids’ school events.” As he discusses his childhood in Maryland, his introduction to the theater, and writing a musical version of Lord of the Flies, the author's love of the work shows through on every page—as does his family’s legacy of a strong work ethic (his mother told him, “I don’t care what you do but you are out of this house when you turn eighteen”). Realizing that “academics were not going to get me anywhere,” he committed to acting. After some early stage work, he began working in films, appearing in a number of critically successful projects in the late 1970s and early ’80s, including Breaking Away and Diner. Stern analyzes key moments in the development of his craft, as well as the twists and turns of a very public life, which included work with the USO and the experience of being sued for $25 million over a TV show. Although readers may pick up the book to learn more about Hollywood, his focus on his work-life balance brings some of the most memorable passages, from his narration and directing work in the TV series The Wonder Years (which included no on-screen billing), which helped him overcome his childhood dyslexia, to his experience working with the Boys & Girls Club and his lifelong focus on public service.
A fascinating and funny look at the life of a famous actor who found further fulfillment through giving back.Pub Date: May 21, 2024
ISBN: 9781632280930
Page Count: 300
Publisher: Viva Editions
Review Posted Online: Jan. 30, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 2024
Smart, engaging sportswriting—good reading for organization builders as well as Pats fans.
Prolific writer Benedict has long blended two interests—sports and business—and the Patriots are emblematic of both. Founded in 1959 as the Boston Patriots, the team built a strategic home field between that city and Providence. When original owner Billy Sullivan sold the flailing team in 1988, it was $126 million in the hole, a condition so dire that “Sullivan had to beg the NFL to release emergency funds so he could pay his players.” Victor Kiam, the razor magnate, bought the long since renamed New England Patriots, but rival Robert Kraft bought first the parking lots and then the stadium—and “it rankled Kiam that he bore all the risk as the owner of the team but virtually all of the revenue that the team generated went to Kraft.” Check and mate. Kraft finally took over the team in 1994. Kraft inherited coach Bill Parcells, who in turn brought in star quarterback Drew Bledsoe, “the Patriots’ most prized player.” However, as the book’s nimbly constructed opening recounts, in 2001, Bledsoe got smeared in a hit “so violent that players along the Patriots sideline compared the sound of the collision to a car crash.” After that, it was backup Tom Brady’s team. Gridiron nerds will debate whether Brady is the greatest QB and Bill Belichick the greatest coach the game has ever known, but certainly they’ve had their share of controversy. The infamous “Deflategate” incident of 2015 takes up plenty of space in the late pages of the narrative, and depending on how you read between the lines, Brady was either an accomplice or an unwitting beneficiary. Still, as the author writes, by that point Brady “had started in 223 straight regular-season games,” an enviable record on a team that itself has racked up impressive stats.
Smart, engaging sportswriting—good reading for organization builders as well as Pats fans.Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-982134-10-5
Page Count: 592
Publisher: Avid Reader Press
Review Posted Online: Aug. 25, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2020
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
