Stomp

LOS ANGELES -- The dance flick "Stomp the Yard" was a step ahead of the competition at the box office, debuting as the No. 1 weekend movie with $22 million. Starring Columbus Short as a raw but talented dancer at the center of a step competition between rival college fraternities, "Stomp the Yard" knocked off "Night at the Museum," which had been the top film for three straight weekends. "Night at the Museum" slipped to second place with $17.1 million, raising its total to $185.8 million, according to studio estimates.

In a little over a week, the Oklahoma City Thunder have broken out of a midseason slump and made their case to be best team in the NBA. Russell Westbrook scored 27 points, Kevin Durant added 26 points and 10 rebounds, and the Thunder used an electrifying third quarter to beat Chicago, 92-78, Sunday in Oklahoma City and move within a game of the Bulls for the NBA's best record. The Thunder clinched a playoff berth in the process, with the help of tiebreakers over the teams fighting for the Western Conference's final spot in the postseason.

Trumpeter Brian Carpenter of Arlington is known as the founder of avant-jazz group Beat Circus, though he’s also a singer, actor, radio producer, and filmmaker. His latest project, Ghost Train Orchestra, grew out of his stint as music director for Voltaic Vaudeville, the Regent Theatre’s 90th birthday celebration. “Hothouse Stomp,’’ the resultant album, is a trip through 1920s Chicago and Harlem. Carpenter selected, transcribed, arranged, and conducted tunes made semi-famous by bands that have faded into semi-obscurity — Charlie Johnson’s Paradise Orchestra, Tiny...

The following was submitted by Springstep: Calling all bookworms (and arts enthusiasts)! On Saturday, March 3rd, from 2 to 5pm, join Springstep in Medford for an exciting afternoon of dancing, drawing, and singing your way through stories. Story Stomp is a family friendly event for children 12 and younger that introduces exciting new ways to experience reading through music, dance, and theater workshops, crafts, a gallery exhibit, storytelling, a book swap, and a community art installation.  Music Together for babies and toddlers will get you and...

After nearly two decades of performances all over the world (including five previous visits to Boston), “Stomp’’ is something of a theatrical institution by now. But I’m happy to report that there are few cobwebs or signs of rust (except for the many hunks of metal onstage) on this institution, which is currently raising a ruckus at the Cutler Majestic Theatre. During its best, most convulsive moments, “Stomp’’ shows what it is possible when you let the id off its leash.

The moment Ndamukong Suh snapped and stomped on Green Bay's Evan Dietrich-Smith, he added fuel to the discussion of where he ranks among the NFL's dirtiest players. It's also expected to lead to a suspension by the NFL for the Detroit Lions defensive tackle. Suh is in the spotlight for his actions, but players have crossed the line since the league was born and probably always will do so at football's highest level. Four-time Super Bowl winner Matt Millen says Suh wouldn't miss a down if he slammed his foot on the arm of an opponent back when...

As an erstwhile right-hand guitar man to Canadian chanteuse Feist, Afie Jurvanen helped tighten the bolts of her singularly tidy brand of soul-streaked folk. The guitarist's second album under the Bahamas moniker - a follow-up to 2009's impressive Juno-nominated "Pink Strat" - glows with a moonlit loneliness, as well as a fortified confidence. Jurvanen's singing voice is smoky and nimble, sometimes dipping into a gruff Bill Callahan baritone, sometimes arching into the frail creak of Neil Young; it falls across these stark songs like a long late-afternoon shadow.

MASSACHUSETTS DANCE FESTIVAL At: Boston University Dance Theater, Saturday night It's official: Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Thomas M. Menino proclaimed this past Saturday and Sunday Massachusetts Dance Festival Weekend. Saturday night's concert, the first of three different showcases in two cities (Boston and Amherst), effectively illustrated why the pronouncement is well-deserved. The grass-roots organization provides a terrific opportunity for dance groups around the state to assemble, share, and support one another, while providing diverse...

British guitar god Jeff Beck’s latest release is titled “Emotion & Commotion.’’ Thursday night at the Bank of America Pavilion, he gave a vibrant performance that evoked the former and caused plenty of the latter. Neither a stoic statue nor a purveyor of overwrought “guitar face,’’ Beck expertly found the sweet spot between emotion and precision, embodying both the maverick and the technician. His top-flight trio — agile drummer Narada Michael Walden, fierce bassist and occasional vocalist Rhonda Smith, and supple keyboardist Jason Rebello — followed...

Based on the fact that Brighton Music Hall was comfortable but not at all full on Wednesday, it seems that, for the moment, Nicole Atkins is still halfway a secret. That may be no good for Atkins, and horribly unjust to boot, but it was a gift to those in on it. With her rich, handsome alto and uncanny ability to wring high drama out of a simple three-piece band, she’d be a force to be reckoned with in an arena. In a compact club, she was overwhelming in the best possible way. Continuing her longstanding tradition of playing Boston sick, Atkins admitted...

As an erstwhile right-hand guitar man to Canadian chanteuse Feist, Afie Jurvanen helped tighten the bolts of her singularly tidy brand of soul-streaked folk. The guitarist's second album under the Bahamas moniker - a follow-up to 2009's impressive Juno-nominated "Pink Strat" - glows with a moonlit loneliness, as well as a fortified confidence. Jurvanen's singing voice is smoky and nimble, sometimes dipping into a gruff Bill Callahan baritone, sometimes arching into the frail creak of Neil Young; it falls across these stark songs like a long late-afternoon shadow.

BASEBALL The Rockies acquired veteran righthander Jeremy Guthrie yesterday from the Orioles, a move that bolsters their young rotation. In exchange, the Rockies sent reliever Matt Lindstrom and righthander Jason Hammel to Baltimore. Guthrie, the Orioles' Opening Day starter three of the last four seasons, lost 17 games last season, the most in the American League, and finished with a 4.33 ERA. Guthrie, who turns 33 in April, agreed to a one-year, $8.2 million contract with the Rockies, avoiding an arbitration hearing . . . The Mariners agreed to a $750,000, one-year contract...

Ndamukong Suh is back with the Detroit Lions. And he's not interested in rehashing the past. Suh declined to answer questions Wednesday about his two-game suspension and car accident after rejoining his teammates for the first time in two-plus weeks. "The most important thing right now is this football team and not me individually," Suh said. The reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year was forced by the NFL to sit out two games without pay for stepping on the right arm of Green Bay Packers offensive lineman Evan Dietrich-Smith during a loss on Thanksgiving Day. He was...

The moment Ndamukong Suh snapped and stomped on Green Bay's Evan Dietrich-Smith, he added fuel to the discussion of where he ranks among the NFL's dirtiest players. It's also expected to lead to a suspension by the NFL for the Detroit Lions defensive tackle. Suh is in the spotlight for his actions, but players have crossed the line since the league was born and probably always will do so at football's highest level. Four-time Super Bowl winner Matt Millen says Suh wouldn't miss a down if he slammed his foot on the arm of an opponent back when...

"Puss in Boots" pounced on "Tower Heist" and "Harold & Kumar" at the box office. The DreamWorks 3-D animated film, distributed by Paramount Pictures, earned $33 million in its second weekend, according to studio estimates Sunday. The PG-rated film centering on the swashbuckling feline voiced by Antonio Banderas from the "Shrek" series surprisingly toppled the weekend's two new releases, bringing its total haul to $75 million. Universal's PG-13 revenge romp "Tower Heist" starring Ben Stiller and Eddie Murphy palmed $25.1 million in the No. 2...

Toby Keith cultivates an image of a good-timing, blustering, flag-waving, good ol' boy. Dig into his records, though, and you'll find a different, or at least more variegated picture. His latest, "Clancy's Tavern," is no different in that regard. To be sure, at points the album serves his image, kicking off on an implicitly patriotic note via the heartland portrayal of "Made in America" and nodding to the party-hearty crowd with the tongue-in-cheek ode, "Red Solo Cup. " But "Clancy's Tavern" is dominated by songs of a different stripe, most of them about losing...

Rock Will Dailey Torrent, Volumes 1 & 2 CBS ESSENTIAL "Peace of Mind" Will Dailey plays with Gypsy Tail Wind on a Boston Harbor boat cruise on July 31. Funny that Will Dailey should name his latest project, one intended partly as a response to the changing economy of selling music, after the primary method of stealing it. But "torrent" could also refer to the speed and volume with which the Boston-based singer-songwriter...

We Brave Bee Stings and All (Kill Rock Stars) Thao Nguyen has a great voice: a smoky and warm alto that is alternately pure and scratchy, sounding a bit like an earthier Chan Marshall (a.k.a. Cat Power). In fact, Nguyen's laid-back warble and consistently surprising delivery are the main charms of "We Brave Bee Stings and All," her second full-length album. Some moments are especially catchy, like the plucky banjo of "Swimming Pools" and the acoustic, guitar-driven military stomp of "Beat (Health, Life, and Fire)

The New York Jets got a taste of wet weather Thursday, with plenty more apparently on the way. Heavy rain early in the day forced the Jets to cancel their planned practice on Long Island, their former training ground where much of their fan base is located. Instead of making the 90-minute trip from their new facility in Florham Park to Hofstra University on Thursday, the team held a closed indoor workout. The Jets moved to New Jersey from Hempstead, N.Y., two years ago. "I'm really disappointed that we couldn't have practice in Long Island this year," coach Rex Ryan said.

MASSACHUSETTS DANCE FESTIVAL At: Boston University Dance Theater, Saturday night It's official: Governor Deval Patrick and Mayor Thomas M. Menino proclaimed this past Saturday and Sunday Massachusetts Dance Festival Weekend. Saturday night's concert, the first of three different showcases in two cities (Boston and Amherst), effectively illustrated why the pronouncement is well-deserved. The grass-roots organization provides a terrific opportunity for dance groups around the state to assemble, share, and support one another, while...