Friday, March 21, 2008

Cheap Thrills: 3/21 to 3/28


I can't believe it's the vernal equinox already. It seems just like yesterday that I passed out with funny "2008" glasses smashed into the side of my face... Easter came too soon, and March Madness not soon enough.

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FRI 3/21
* The Gentlemen, Downbeat 5, Dave Smith & the Country Rebels
* Dean Wareham, "Black Postcards: A Rock & Roll Romance": Music & Book Signing
* Whitehaus Family Equinox Blastfest
* 4th Annual Bunny Barhop
* Boston Underground Film Festival -- to SUN 3/23

SAT 3/22
* International Pillow Fight Day
* International Free Hugs Day
* The Most Serene Republic, Miracle Fortress, Liam Finn
* Ken Reid & Nate Johnson, "Two One-Man Shows by Two Guys Wasting One Life Each"
* Emergency Music, The Great Bandini, The Fatal Flaw, The Sunsets Quick
* "All JP Music All Night"
* Cross-Pollenization Creative Music Festival III
* Annual "Gardeners Gathering"

SUN 3/16
* Graveyard Easter Egg Hunt
* The Sunsets, Dave Godowsky's eAsteR pAradE

MON 3/17
* Samantha Power, "Challenges for the UN": Discussion
* Tony the Bookie, Elizabeth Butters, The Simon Brothers
* Lovewhip, Taiphoon Fantastic, Nazzcar Rain Delay

TUES 3/25
* Everclear, Street Credit
* Le Loup, The RubySuns, Eksi Ekso
* Bill Cosby & Alvin F. Poussaint, "Come On, People!": Discussion

WED 3/19
* "Une Soiree au Quebec": Francophonie 2008
* "Winedown" w/ Kill Henry Sugar
* "Arctic Tale": Free Screening & ZipCar Promotion

THUR 3/27
* The Invisible Rays, Black Fortress Of Opium, Garvy J, Ad Frank
* Music of Dave Holland
* Gene Wilder: Book Signing

FRI 3/28
* "All About Darfur"
* The Shods, The Teenage Prayers, Watts, The Tampoffs

SUN 3/30
* Human Rights Torch Relay

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FRI 3/21

7:30pm
Dean Wareham, "Black Postcards: A Rock & Roll Romance": Music & Book Signing
at Lizard Lounge/Cambridge Common, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge (between Harvard Sq & Porter Sq)
FREE

Dean Wareham of Galaxie 500, Luna, and Dean & Britta spills the dirt of a indie-rock god. Dean & Britta recently played at the MFA for about $25, so it's cool to get a fraction of half for free.

FRI 3/21

The Gentlemen (11:30pm), Downbeat 5 (10:30pm), Dave Smith & the Country Rebels (9:30pm)
at Abbey Lounge, 3 Beacon St, Somerville (Inman Sq)
$8

FRI 3/21

6pm to Midnight
Whitehaus Family Equinox Blastfest
at Cambridge YMCA Theater, 820 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$5

FRI 3/21

9pm
4th Annual Bunny Barhop
starts at Miracle of Science, 321 Mass Ave, Cambridge (between Central Sq & MIT)
Pay for your Drinks

FRI 3/21 to SUN 3/23

Various Times
Boston Underground Film Festival 2008
at Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
at AMC Harvard Square 5, 10 Church St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
$8 / $6 students & seniors

The weirder film festival is filled with films that probably won't get wider distribution. Although it may not be great, "The Wizard of Gore" has an impressive cast including the wild Crispin Glover. The premiere is Thursday night (see below) and also screens on Friday afternoon. Documentary "Spine Tingler! The William Castle Story" (who directed many classic horrors of yore) is supposed to be pretty good and is showing on Saturday and Sunday.

There are plenty of shorts programs titled: "Hyperreel", "Technicolor Psychotica", "Ocular Penetration", "A Day in Leah Land: The Films of Leah Meyerhoff", "You're So Not Serious", "Earthworms in Space", "Staring into the Abyss", and "Insert Title Here".

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SAT 3/22

2pm
International Pillow Fight Day
at Copley Sq, Boston
FREE

The Banditos Misteriosos folks planned a flash mob pillow fight during the winter, so we might as well have one for "International Pillow Fight Day". Bring a pillow, but act naturally before 2pm. The general consensus from the previous one is that a public pillow fight can be quite fun. I had a good time at their Silent Dance Experiment too.

SAT 3/22

1pm (until whenever)
International Free Hugs Day
around the pit, Harvard Sq
FREE

If you're a lover, not a fighter, you can help give hugs. I got a free hug once, and it was nice. This should be a funny scene with other people that may be around the pit:

Person #1: "Free Hugs!"

Person #2: "Free Tibet!"
Person #1: "Free HUGS!"
Person #2: "Free TIBET!"
Person #1: "FREE HUGS!"
Person #2: "FREE TIBET!"
SAT 3/22

8pm to 10pm
Ken Reid & Nate Johnson, "Two One-Man Shows by Two Guys Wasting One Life Each"
at Cambridge YMCA Theater, 820 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$10

Two funny guys will basically do one-man shows that will both likely combine regular stand-up, some video, and who knows what else. Ken decided to title his segment, "Portrait of a Pop Culture Victim", while Nate's performance may be more guerilla-style... More commando-style perhaps... (But you shouldn't be able to tell from the audience.)

SAT 3/22

9:30pm
The Most Serene Republic, Miracle Fortress, Liam Finn
at Middle East - Upstairs, 472 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$9 advance / $10 day of show / 18+

Canadian and Kiwi rock, including Liam (son of Crowded House's Neil) Finn.

SAT 3/22

Emergency Music (Midnight), The Great Bandini (11pm), The Fatal Flaw (10pm), The Sunsets Quick (9pm)
at TT the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$9

SAT 3/22

8pm to 2am
"All JP Music All Night"
at The Midway Cafe, 3496 Washington Street, Jamaica Plain
$5

I didn't do much research on this, but it's a benefit for a documentary-in-progress "Jamaica Plain Spoken" by Rick Berlin and Todd Drogy. There will be raffles, fun, music from Dave Aaronoff, Hilken Mancini & Emily Arkin, Blanketeer, The Country Doctors, Humble Woman, Josh Kreydatus, The Resurrectionists, and more.

(Could it be a better weekend to hang out with The Resurrectionists?

SAT 3/22

5:30pm to 11pm
The Cross-Pollenization Creative Music Festival III
at Piano Factory/Devanaughn Theatre, 791 Tremont St, Boston (South End)
FREE

It's a long title, but you can hear many different experimental music performers for free! At this point I'm not going to say anything better than the article in The Phoenix, except this is a BYOB event. Try to be discreet, and put your hooch in a backpack or something. A new musical journey begins about every 30 minutes.

Note: Entrance is through the back parking lot on Northampton Street.

SAT 3/22

1pm to 5pm
Annual "Gardeners Gathering"
at Curry Student Center, 346 Huntington Ave, Boston (Northeastern campus)
FREE

If you're into gardening there are some workshop sessions that start at 1pm, 2pm, 3pm. They say Mayor Menino’s greeting and the annual Community Gardening Awards are "highlights", but it sounds like they're shoveling a lot of manure over there...

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SUN 3/23

Noon
Easter Egg Hunt
at Old Burying Ground next to First Parish Church, 3 Church St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
FREE

SUN 3/23

The Sunsets (8pm), Dave Godowsky's eAsteR pAradE (10pm)
at Toad, 1912 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Porter Sq)
FREE

Folky pop/poppy folk -- there's not much entertainment besides college basketball and eating today. I don't know what Dave Godowsky has up his sleeve, but he reminds me of They Might Be Giants playing acoustically.

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MON 3/24

5:30pm to 7pm
Samantha Power, "Challenges for the UN": Discussion
at The JFK Presidential Library and Museum, Columbia Point, Boston
FREE w/ RSVP

So much has happened since Samantha Power called Hillary Clinton a "monster", but you could always go for the analysis of the state of international diplomacy. She'll discuss her new book about Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Brazilian who in charge of UN Mission in Iraq before he was blown up -- and moves onto ripples of that, etc.

Register at the JFK Library link. It's no big deal.

MON 3/24

10pm
Sean's Night Off w/ Tony the Bookie, Elizabeth Butters, The Simon Brothers
at ZuZu!, 474 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
FREE

MON 3/24

10pm
Lovewhip, Taiphoon Fantastic, Nazzcar Rain Delay
at Charlie's Kitchen, 10 Eliot St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
$5

If you don't want to support free music at ZuZu, there's a lot of woman power at another venue that's giving live music a second chance for cheap. Lovewhip is back from dazzling the SXSW folks with their electro dance-rock. Taiphoon Fantastic is a sassy group devoted to making you shake your groove thang. Of course, Nazzcar Rain Delay is punk rock in an old-school vein... Good stuff.

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TUES 3/25

8pm
Everclear, Street Credit
at Parris/Ned Devine's, Faneuil Hall Marketplace , Boston
FREE w/RSVP / 21+

Yes, it's that Everclear (with leader Art Alexakis and a few new guys. I remember them sucking live, but maybe they're more "road-tested" these days... You can RSVP here (but I get paid if you register with the link at the bottom of my site). It won't hurt.

TUES 3/25

Le Loup (11:15pm), The RubySuns (10:15pm), Eksi Ekso (9:15pm)
at TT the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$9

Do you like Arcade Fire but wish that no one else knew who they were? Well, you can feel that way again for a few months more with D.C. band Le Loup.

TUES 3/25

6pm
Dr. Bill Cosby & Dr. Alvin F. Poussaint, "Come On, People! On the Path from Victims to Victors"
at Museum Of African American History, 46 Joy St, Boston (Beacon Hill)
FREE (donations accepted)

"The Cos" and Harvard Professor Alvin F. Poussaint MD discuss empowerment of families and communities.

Note: All reserved seating is filled, so they recommend getting there early for first come-first seating.

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WED 3/26

6pm to 8pm
"Une Soiree au Quebec": Francophonie 2008
at Boston French Library, 53 Marlborough St, Boston (Back Bay)
FREE

Listen to jaunty French-Canadian fiddle music from Chanterelle, enjoy samples of Quebecois beer and traditional "meat pie" (tourtiere), and see paintings & photographs of Quebecois-born artists. This party is also the opening reception for Nicole St. Pierre and Carl Tremblay.

What better year to celebrate 'Francophone Fortnight' than Quebec's 400th anniversary?

WED 3/26

7pm
"Winedown" w/ Kill Henry Sugar
at Harvard Book Store, 1256 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
FREE

Hey, this is the first in what may be a monthly mixer for booklovers at Harvard Book Store. Drink wine, chat, listen to the folk duo that's opening up for Joan Baez at Sanders Theatre. Drink some more wine.

WED 3/26

7:30pm
"Arctic Tale"
at Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
FREE w/ RSVP

I quote IMDB about the movie:
Two narratives -- the life cycle of a mother walrus and her calf, and the life of a polar bear and her cubs -- are used to illustrate the harsh realities of existence in the Arctic.
Please watch it before you complain to your favorite conservative radio host.

Zip Car and National Geographic present this screening with a twist: If you donate your car to the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, you get a really sweet deal with ZipCar that might be worth your while:
a free one-year Zipcar membership and a $250 in driving credit. In addition, the first 20 people to donate their cars will receive an additional $250 driving credit.
RSVP and include your "name, number of attendees, and whether you will register to donate a vehicle."

Note: You DON'T bring your clunker to the Brattle.

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THUR 3/27

The Invisible Rays (11:45pm), Black Fortress Of Opium (10:45pm), Garvy J (9:45pm), Ad Frank (9pm)
at Abbey Lounge, 3 Beacon St, Somerville (Inman Sq)
$8

Go, go, go listen to the tremendously good night of music. Lovers of great guitar get a double dose of Tony Savarino in Black Fortress Of Opium and Garvy J. (And the surf-ish rock of Invisible Rays.) There will probably be some bellydancing too. Maybe more surprises...

THUR 3/27

8pm
Music of Dave Holland
at Brown Hall, 30 Gainsborough St, Boston (New England Conservatory/Fenway)
FREE

Do you want to hear some jazz? Bassist Dave Holland has played with Miles Davis, Theolonius Monk, Stan Getz, Chick Corea, Herbie Hancock, Pat Metheny, etc. He's at NEC this week, so he might sit in with the students.

THUR 3/27

6pm
Gene Wilder: Book Signing
at Borders, 511 Boylston St, Boston (Back Bay)
FREE to look

It's just a book-signing, but Gene Wilder is pretty awesome. I'd swing by if I was near to take a look.

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FRI 3/28

6:30pm
"All About Darfur"
at The Democracy Center, 45 Mt. Auburn St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
$5 suggested donation

A benefit for The Sudan-Reach Women's Foundation.

FRI 3/28

The Shods (Midnight), The Teenage Prayers (11pm), Watts (10pm), The Tampoffs (9pm)
at TT the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$10 / 21+

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SUN 3/30

8am to 4pm
Human Rights Torch Relay
from Hopkinton to Parkman Bandstand, Boston Common
FREE

A protest about human rights abuses in China is probably as effective as any official US action...

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Link of the Week:

This is a photo blog of the 'fashionable' people of Boston.

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Quote of the Week:

"Human beings are perhaps never more frightening than when they are convinced beyond doubt that they are right."

-- Laurens van der Post

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th-th-that's all, folks.

~r

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