Tom Lynch

Nothing like getting inventive. Local author Joe Meno continues to push the limits of traditional lit with each of his releases—his last novel, the charming “The Boy Detective Fails,” about a Hardy Boys-like crime-solver, included a decoder ring in the packaging for chrissakes. Meno’s newest effort, “Demons in the Spring,” his second short-story collection (after “Bluebirds Used to Croon in the Choir”), features twenty different entries, each accompanied by an illustration from a relatively famous artist or graphic novelist. Contributors include Charles Burns, Ivan Brunetti, Paul Hornschemeier, Jay Ryan and Archer Prewitt. Meno’s tales are funny, heartbreaking and insightful, most of the time all at once—he’s getting better with age. Presenting a slide show of the book’s illustrated material is local graphic artist Anders Nilsen, who is also a contributor, and whose mini-book from a couple years ago, “Don’t Go Where I Can’t Follow,” I will never, ever get over. What the hell else do you want to know? Just be there.

Joe Meno discusses “Demons in the Spring” September 25 at Quimby’s, 1854 West North, (773)342-0910, at 7pm. Free.

(2008-09-23)

Also by Tom Lynch

Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are
Last year’s Hideout Block Party sticks in my memory for two reasons. One, when The Frames’ Glen Hansard played his “Falling Slowly” song from the film “Once,” the crowd singing its cathartic chorus back to him in unison, it was one of the more touching moments of live music I’ve seen in recent years. But more importantly, the communal atmosphere of the setup, the overall sweeping blanket of togetherness that Hideout’s annual two-day party provides, prevails in my mind. It simply has what most live music festivals do not: heart
(2008-09-16)

Tip of the Week
Iceland’s mysterious, massively beautiful quartet Sigur Ros returned earlier this summer with another breathtaking opus, the energizing “Med Sud I Eyrum Vid Spilum Endalaust” (“With a Buzz in Our Ears We Play Endlessly”), which sees the band changing direction a bit, somewhat ditching its well-trodden road of ethereality and glacial soundscapes and charging ahead into pop construction and actual hooks
(2008-09-16)

Soundcheck
If the strongest musical bonds between musicians are formed at an early stage, then local five-piece The Names That Spell have a serious advantage. Having played together since each member was in his early teens, everything has led to this moment: the self-released “A & R,” an attractive assemblage of countless instruments, a kind-of-indie-pop record with a delirious determination to explore the outer realms
(2008-09-09)

Tip of the Week
One of the strongest local records released this year, Bound Stems’ “The Family Afloat,” the follow-up to its extraordinary 2006 release “Appreciation Night,” again on Flameshovel, warrants repeated listens, each more rewarding than the last
(2008-09-09)

Tip of the Week
(2008-09-09)

Getting There
(2008-09-02)

Tip of the Week
(2008-09-02)

Tip of the Week
(2008-08-19)

Tip of the Week
(2008-08-19)

Tip of the Week
(2008-08-13)

Language Art
(2008-08-13)

Scientific Fact
(2008-08-05)

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