Byron Richard, guitarist/vocalist of the band Melt belts out lyrics to a packed crowd at the House of Blues on Monday night. By Angela Salazar Daily Bruin Senior Staff Melt’s got it ““ the ambition, the talent and the presence all melted together to form a dynamic band. Read more...

  www.requiemforadream.com By Howard Ho Daily Bruin Contributor After a summer of mutant superheros and impossible missions, the Hollywood studio system can’t be reckoned with in terms of box office receipts, but times are changing and entertainment is quickly moving toward the Web. Read more...

  Illustration by HINGYI KHONG/Daily Bruin By Aphrodite Manousos Daily Bruin Contributor The latest installment in the Blair Witch chronicles, “The Secret Confessions of Rustin Parr,” reveals that even the occult can be made banal. Read more...

By Michael Rosen-Molina Daily Bruin Senior Staff The Tarantella is famous as the frenetic dance that victims of the dreaded tarantula used to perform to clean their systems of the deadly poison. Read more...

  Emilia Hwang If you would like to encourage Hwang’s celebrity status, send her plenty of fan mail at [email protected]. Stop the presses. Ben Affleck touched me. Read more...

Audra McDonald performs at Royce Renowned mezzo-soprano Audra McDonald will perform at Royce Hall on Oct. 21. Her new CD, “How Glory Goes,” has won substantial critical acclaim and the New York Times praises her as “restoring hope in a musical future.” McDonald is the winner of three Tony awards and is expected to win a fourth for her starring role in the Broadway show, “Marie Christine.” For ticketing information, call the Central Ticket Office at (310) 825-2101. Read more...

  Illustration by AMY HABER/Daily Bruin   By John Mangum Daily Bruin Contributor If John Schlesinger’s first love is film, then opera is his mistress. Schlesinger, the Academy Award-winning director of films including “The Falcon and the Snowman,” “Midnight Cowboy,” “Sunday, Bloody Sunday” and, most recently, “The Next Best Thing,” first tried his hand at opera nearly two decades ago when he directed Offenbach’s “Tales of Hoffmann” at London’s Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Read more...