Epitaph Records is injecting some high-energy rock ‘n’ roll straight into the heart of DeKalb by bringing the Epitaph Tour to the Holmes Student Center’s Duke Ellington Ballroom at 7 p.m. today. Along with Matchbook Romance, The Matches, From First...

In the movie "The Relic", based on a novel by Douglas Preston and Lincoln Child, the filmmakers replaced the SWAT team of the book’s climax with a couple of armed men running around in khakis. For years, this decision perplexed me as a weird choice...

Singer/songwriter Toothpick will play Saturday at 9 p.m. at Fatty’s Pub and Grille, 1312 W. Lincoln Highway. Toothpick, aka Doug Ray, opened for O.A.R at the Convocation Center last February. Ray wrote the song "Supersize Me" featured in the 2005 Academy...

In a little more than 36 days, college (and unfortunately some high school) students will embark on one of the most exciting times of the semester: Spring Break. Like the average NIU student, you’re probably scurrying like a hungry alley cat just to...

All the Super Bowl hype - costly commercials and halftime controversy included - doesn’t mean a thing if a viewer can’t watch the show in a comfortable venue. Those not wanting to spend their Sunday night in the confines of their Lazy Boys and sofas...

Bob Dylan. Bruce Springsteen. Robert Smith. Morrissey. Jeff Tweedy. It’s time to add one more name to the list of poetic singers who can twist and turn words with flawless ease and wrap their lyrics around chord progressions that would leave Ryan Cabrera...

The NIU School of Theatre and Dance introduces two Molière plays to be performed over the next two weeks. "Tartuffe" is about a 17th-century con man who poses in clerical garb to mask his less-than-virtuous intentions regarding a wealthy aristocrat’s...

One senior art education major has given an artist’s touch to the pad she shares with her female friends. Rachel Aberle, a senior art education major, has prominently displayed some of her artwork around the house, including a set of six paintings of...

"That’s just my cowgirl alter-ego," hums Ani DiFranco on the title track of "Knuckle Down." The singer/songwriter and guitarist is back with more of her hippie attitude and dynamic talent. Her attitude shows the confidence present in her music. "Knuckle...

... And You Will Know Us By The Trail of Dead tries very hard to be edgy. Unfortunately, the group sounds less like a band expanding its horizons and more often like 20-somethings kicking and screaming, "Pay attention to our attitude!" The group’s fourth...

It's great to be Jim Cameron. His new film, "Aliens of the Deep," is less about any aliens of any deep, and more about himself and how much his marine biologist pals love their jobs. "Aliens" tries to celebrate these scientists and the strange creatures...

Straight out of Philly (but originally Ohio and more recently New York), John Stephens - aka John Legend - hits us with his highly anticipated album "Get Lifted." Stephens isn’t exactly new to the business. He’s had his hands on numerous other projects...