✓
REVIEW
restaurant review // 715 the taste of the town. one meal at a time.
715, an ultra-trendy eatery that opened in October, will soon be joining the ranks as one of the go-to establishments for fine dining in Lawrence. Located at 715 Massachusetts St., the restaurant boldly approaches the Lawrence dining scene with an expansive menu featuring breakfast, lunch, dinner and late-night fare. 715 seems destined for culinary success, with head chef Michael Beard, who attended culinary school in Italy, and restaurant manager Matt Hyde, former general manager at acclaimed Lawrence restaurant Teller's, at the helm.
The ambiance at 715 begs you to bring a Saturday night date, as it will surely impress. The décor is comparable to a swanky Manhattan bistro, furnished with chairs and tables that discourage post-meal lingering. 715 features an open kitchen, allowing patrons to watch the chefs throw pizza crusts or sauté pasta sauces. The wait staff is abundant and eager to share their expertise on the menu.
Contributed photo
During my visit at 715, I sampled the rosemary flatbread, four-cheese pizza, sausage penne, braised carrots and hot chocolate with biscotti. Typical of upscale restaurants, portions were
small, but the quality was apparent throughout my courses.
715 has proven itself to be a fresh take on fine Lawrence dining. The restaurant seems to have gained a small following already, an impressive feat considering their recent opening.
Despite the inherent problems facing newly opened restaurants, 715 seems guaranteed a place among the best in Lawrence.
SASHA LUND
//
music review // FUCK BUTTONS — 'TAROT SPORT'
KJHK's weekly guide to sonic consumption. (ATP)
It takes showmanship to be an electronic band. Without poetry or wordplay to rely on, a band has to create their personality based on their music and how they carry themselves.
Take Girl Talk, for example. His shows are a big, awesome, sweaty mess. And even though he can't look brash with a guitar, bass or drums, he is able to show people how he really is through the way he showcases his work.
Fuck Buttons have been taking the loud, crass approach for their career (hell, just look at their band name) and have been able to build off of that to create a personality. This album, however, makes it seem as if they've started to grow up a little.
The album starts with "Surf Solar," which, as a good electronic song should, builds and builds and builds until there are so many layers you aren't sure where it started. It seems as if the band is building and building on their previous work, and allows it to just let loose. There's an enormous amount of depth to Tarot Sport, and as someone who generally dislikes electronica, I think it's actually a killer album. It's accessible (and lack of accessibility drives
me away from most electronica in the first place) and filled to the brim with absolutely nuclear beats. And when I say nuclear, I mean *nuclear*.
//LOGAN NICKLES, KJHK
STATION MANAGER
AND ROTATION DJ
book review // NICK HORNBY — 'JULIET, NAKED' reading. it's not just for textbooks, you know.
The novel's driving force, a man named Tucker Crowe, is a fictional American singersongwriter whose music was renowned in the 1980s (via his hit album Juliet) but has since fizzled because of his mysterious withdrawal from fame and society. Crowe's sudden disappearance leads to much speculation on the Internet and several Crowe enthusiasts, including Duncan, Crowe's biggest fan, spend as much time online theirizing about Crowe's current life as they do living their own lives.
In his new novel, Juliet, Naked, Nick Hornby (High Fidelity, About a Boy) captures the complicated essence of human relationships, whether those relationships are with family members, lovers or with music. And ultimately, Hornby shows how sometimes the three can intertwine in unexpected ways.
Tucker Crowe has as much of an effect on Duncan's life as Duncan's girlfriend of 15 years, Annie, and Duncan's misplaced passion for Crowe takes a wrong turn when Crowe releases a new album called Juliet, Naked. Duncan renders the release extraordinary while Annie finds it unimpressive and dull. The rift in their relationship is deepened because of their opposing feelings regarding the new album, and each of them turn to other people for understanding as well as the love they've missed out on for the past 15 years. Annie's realization
that Duncan can only ever love Crowe leads her down a surprising path, one made all the more interesting when Crowe himself appears, accompanied by the messy, imperfect life he'd been hiding for 20 years.
Hornby's writing is incredibly relevant; he writes from the perspective of a man living in the 21st century, a world of online dating, chatroom conspiracy theories and out-of-control, obsessive fandom. Hornby explores questions about life and love through his characters, who feel as though they've wasted large portions of their lives and don't know how to get those portions back.
And just when the story seems too straightforward or bare, Hornby's exploration of human relationships and the way music can interfere with or be a part of those relationships livens it up and makes Juliet, Naked an overall refreshing read.
// AMANDA SORELL