A&E

t's fun to watch individual members of a successful band go on hiatus. Although lead singers tend to go on ego-boosting solo projects while the rest of the band melts into the background, members of The Strokes are too talented to take that route. Vocalist Julian Casablancas and stylish lead guitarist Nick Valensi have made their contributions to music since the band's break, but it's their more reserved bandmates that have made a splash with albums.

"Twelfth Night" is hardly as well-known as some of Shakespeare's other plays, such as "Hamlet" or "Romeo and Juliet." Yet that does not mean the play isn't good – especially when the UC Irvine drama department is putting it on.

On inauguration day, Acrobatics Everyday celebrated its one-year anniversary and kicked off the beginning of a historic new presidential administration with the music of High Places, Protect Me and 60 Watt Kid.

Sinking her teeth into the neck of an unsuspecting victim, Eli's actions are hardly those one would associate with a quiet 12-year-old girl. However, Eli has been a 12-year-old girl for a very long time...

Is it a blessing or a curse to be anointed the "next big thing" after your debut? While iconic alternative bands of the '90s, like Radiohead, Nirvana and The Smashing Pumpkins used their first record as the calm before the storm, plenty of bands in this decade have hit the floor running, and the attention is overbearing. Franz Ferdinand is another example in the laundry list that includes Coldplay, Interpol, The Strokes, Bloc Party and a few others.

Indie 103.1 has kicked the radio bucket in order to stay true to its mantra. Despite the rumors, it's not shutting down, just moving everything to online streaming. But why the sudden shift? Esteban Lopez Blanco, Entravision's (Indie's parent company) executive director of interactive relations, clarified the situation...

On Tuesdays, the Irvine Improv has "College Juice Comedy Night." College comedy, as a genre, is similar to normal stand-up comedy, except it tends to pander to the lowest common denominator. Comics delivering to the college crowd rely on their audience being around the age of 21, emboldened by their new drinking privileges – and therefore, just tipsy enough to appreciate an onslaught of racial humor and dick jokes.

"Music can noble hints impart, engender fury, kindle love, with unsuspected eloquence can move, and manage all the man with secret art," said Joseph Addison. Music, to anyone, is a language; it communicates a combination of emotion and thought more than words can describe. Through its concentrations on stylistic genres, any person can hear the artist's message. These passionate notes inspire, direct and create lifestyles for up-and-coming bands, like UC Irvine's jazz ensemble Open Fifth, who performed at the Anthill Pub last Thursday.

Director Edward Zwick brings us a unique perspective to the Holocaust tragedy in his newest film, "Defiance." Starring Daniel Craig (of "new" James Bond fame) as Tuvia Bielski and Liev Schrieber ("Hamlet," "Mixed Nuts") as Zus Bielski, "Defiance" follows the true story of a group of Russian Jews hiding out in the woods during the height of Nazi aggression in World War II Russia. Tuvia and Zus find themselves taking in more and more refugees until the need for organization arises. Tuvia, much to his brother's chagrin, emerges naturally as the camp's leader.

On Tuesday, Andrew Bird will again prove to fans that mastery and untouchable talent are the makeup of success on his new album "Noble Beast." Whistles, violin loops and poetic lyrics will remind us once again why Bird is so good at what he does.

When Nero, the last emperor of Rome, realized that he has a public relations problem, he summoned Scribonius to write a play that would turn the public opinion of him around immediately. What followed is Amy Freed's "You, Nero," an eye-pleasing spectacle about the events in Nero's palace during the declining years of the Roman Empire as extravagant as the Roman Coliseum itself.

Jennifer Hudson's "Spot Light" suddenly comes to a halt in the Mesa parking structure. It's freezing but there are people huddling together on the gray asphalt of the bottom floor, surrounded by water bottles, backpacks and the remnants of fast food. Some students are on their computers and the rest of the 40 people are standing in front of their audience, a line of cars, moving restlessly to their team captain's counting. It's just after 10 p.m., and most of them hope to leave by 3 a.m.