Weekly Dig - Humor, News + Nightlife

Get High on Life

dayvidday — Tue, 20 May 2008 16:03:17 -0400

Get out of the house. Go to the beach. Go to the park. Go ... fuck yourself. 'There's nothing like wasting a warm summer night getting blazed, popping up some popcorn (with parmesan!) and couching it for two hours or four. Home theater allows us to poop when we please, eat for under $4,000 and when the THC buzz wears off after 60 minutes, we just spark up our second jaybird.

CONTROL

Finally, the DVD release of Anton Corbijn's award-winning B&W biopic Control. Unlike '24 Hour Party People, Control focuses solely on frontman Ian Curtis' struggles, rather than spotlighting the budding Manchester scene as a whole and the obnoxious Happy Mondays. Control will truly have you asking, "Why Ian and not the lead singer of The Happy Mondays?!!!!" :( [DAVID DANCER]

RELEASE DATE | 6.3.08

THE SWORD IN THE STONE (45TH ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION)

Thank God I saw this movie as a child because by the time I got to high school, I didn't have to work as hard when reading The Once and Future King. Although, there was no talking owl named Archimedes in the book and Arthur and Merlin didn't turn into squirrels or sing "Higitus Figitus." Come to think of it, the only thing the movie has in common with the book is the sword in the stone part. [ISABELLE DAVIS]

RELEASE DATE | 6.17.08

PERSEPOLIS

Marjane Satrapi at age 9 circa 1979: As a young girl faced with the Islamic Revolution in Iran, Marjane rebels against "the man" aka "the Ayatollah" by removing her veil and getting down with punk rawk. Isis Madrid at age nine circa 1996: as a young girl faced with limitless opportunity and freedom, Isis rebels against "the man" aka "Mom" by picking her nose and eating it. Persepolis is about one of these two ladies. It's in French. And animated. Parlez-vous awesome? [ISIS MADRID]

RELEASE DATE | 6.24.08

XANADU: MAGICAL MUSICAL EDITION

"A place where nobody dared to go / They call it Xanadu," croons a deliciously sexy 32-year-old Olivia Newton-John (She's 60 now? Wait ... what?) whose winged hair catches sail and propels her off into a land of sequins and roller-disco and glitter rainbows and magically tumbling rainbow cupcakes. This edition comes with a bonus CD, so make sure to slather yourself in metallics as you skate around to the ELO-penned soundtrack. ""[BRENT T. INGRAM]

RELEASE DATE | 6.24.08

WHOLPHIN, NO. 5

We've come to trust in Dave Eggers for just about everything these days. Shit, home-slice opened a Bigfoot Research Center in freakin' Roxbury. Why would he be anything less than a short-film superstar? Wholphin is the cinematic companion to McSweeney's and up until now has been available only to loyal subscribers. This DVD magazine is full of stunning vignettes (with everyone from Paul Rudd to Maggie Gyllenhaal), animated corkers and documentary shorts that pack more punch than Michael Moore has over his entire career. [LUCY BARBER]

RELEASE DATE | 6.24.08

DALLAS: THE COMPLETE NINTH SEASON

The drama that engulfs the oil tycoon Ewing family lasted from 1978-1991, making it one of the longest running soaps in TV history. Watch the Texan trials and tribulations unfold during this season only to get to the end and find out that none of it really happened and therefore the whole season was a complete waste of everyone's time. [ISABELLE DAVIS]

RELEASE DATE | 7.15.08

THE WIRE: THE COMPLETE FIFTH SEASON

If you're still not watching the greatest achievement in television by this point, you're either retarded or a racist. Or a racist retard, which in that case we might forgive you. In these pages I called it a tragedy of Shakespearean depth and proportion and eloquence: its subject matter is the dirt that seeps through the cracks and pulls at institutions and the people who belong to them, apart from within. A few false notes aside, it remains true. [LUKE O'NEIL]

RELEASE DATE | 8.12.08

The Last Summer

dayvidday — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:53:34 -0400

We saw dude on the T whip out a Discman. It was quaint. As mobile phones start to hold over 1,500 songs, MP3 players become as ubiquitous as wallets and DRM-free files flood our folders, we're thinking Summer 2008 might be the last season of the CD. So to honor the format, we've had our writers pick seven anticipated Compact Discs. RIP CDs (1982-2008) ... we loved you.

AL GREEN | LAY IT DOWN

RELEASE | 5.27

LABEL | BLUE NOTE RECORDSALGREENMUSIC.COM

About three years in the making, the Reverend Al Green's real comeback is a soul music wet dream: Ahmir "?uestlove" Thompson (drums/producer), James Poyser (keys/producer), Adam Blackstone (bass man behind Jill Scott), the Dap-King Horns, Corinne Bailey Rae, Anthony Hamilton and John Legend, plus the late and legendary gospel guitarist Spanky Alford. As Green's first time without longtime producer Willie Mitchell, Lay It Down sets out to treat the soul icon as a still relevant artist, not a relic playing catch up. [ISABELLE DAVIS]

LADYTRON | VELOCIFERO

RELEASE | 6.3

LABEL | NETTWERK RECORDSLADYTRON.COM

Ugh, WTF! It's 2008, aren't we supposed to stop listening to Ladytron?!? Y'know, like The Faint? Well, not when they release something like Veliocifero. This album is the appropriate follow-up to The Witching Hour, but with a touch of Siouxsie and the Banshees vs. The Pet Shop Boys. It seems our favorite electro-clash survivors have hopped on board the gloomtrain. Don't expect a dance party to break out when you hit play ... get a box of Kleenex. :'( [DAVID DANCER]

THE NOTWIST | THE DEVIL, YOU + ME

RELEASE | 6.17

LABEL | DOMINO

MYSPACE.COM/THENOTWISTNOW

Germany's Notwist, the pop band's pop band, have surprisingly resurfaced to release a sixth studio album after a bit of a hiatus. Like Portishead, the rumors are that the once nearly bright, shimmery group has taken to the depths of darkness, and the title would say as much. Leaked tracks, like "Good Lies," affirm a more swoon-y rock sound, but the trademarked hushed vocals remain. They hit the Roxy on October 10th. Vunderbar. [DAVID DAY]

HERCULES AND LOVE AFFAIR | S/T

RELEASE | 6.24

LABEL | DFA/MUTE RECORDSHERCULESANDLOVEAFFAIR.COM

Is this the most hyped dance album of all time? Maybe. But you can't have it, because even though it's on America's legendary DFA label, it's still only available in Europe until later this summer. You've heard the lead single "Blind" at some dance party or other and enjoyed the '80s disco vibe. Pitchfork gave it a 9.1 mainly due to Andrew Butler's songwriting and Tim Goldsworthy's drum programming. Gobble up the hype, this album is unmissable. [ELI GOLDSTEIN]

BLACK KIDS | PARTIE TRAUMATIC

RELEASE | 7.7

LABEL | ALMOST GOLDBLACKKIDSMUSIC.COM

After a goofy, nervous set opening for Cut Copy earlier this month at Paradise, you might not think the Black Kids deserve the hype. You're wrong. Partie Traumatic takes the trend of beat-informed, party-rock sound back in time, with the coos and bop-bops of classic '60s pop over danceable fun riffs. Never mind they're from Florida—soon enough they'll change their hometown to Brooklyn, N.Y., and leave our pithy, superficial pop landscape for the teeming masses of European festivals ... where they will promptly kill. [DEBBIE DRISCOLL]

THE HOLD STEADY | STAY POSITIVE

RELEASE | 7.15

LABEL | VAGRANT RECORDS

MYSPACE.COM/THEHOLDSTEADY

Just when you thought it was safe to listen to bar band rack without experiencing all them fancy emotions and shit, The Hold Steady returns with a new record of hyperarticulate songs about partying hard and thinking harder. Sure, lots of classic rock-influenced bands balance their vintage sound with something more contemporary. The Hold Steady might be the only one to split the difference between Judas Priest and Noah Baumbach. Maybe they ought to call it Kicking and Screaming for Vengeance. [ROB TURBOVSKY]

CONOR OBERST | CONOR OBERST

RELEASE | 8.5

LABEL | MERGE RECORDSTHISISBRIGHTEYES.COM

Conor Oberst was recorded in Tepoztlan, Mexico, famous for its ET sightings and Aztec hullabaloo. (Just in—the next Desaparecidos EP will be recorded in Narnia!) Though the players remain nameless thus far, Oberst is backed by The Mystic Valley Band, assumedly on loan to him by a Phish revival group. Conor Oberst will not be released on Saddle Creek or Team Love, but rather on Merge Records. That must have been one awfully nice fruit basket. [LUCY BARBER]

Cool Comic Relief

dayvidday — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:40:12 -0400

Summer ... is there any better season to spend entirely indoors? Well, winter, I guess. Maybe spring and fall, too. But soon they'll all be one magical season, filled with heat waves and blizzards and zombies and the evolution of human consciousness. And you know what you'll want then? Live comedy, motherfuckers. But, it'll be too late. Demand will outpace supply and all the comedy will be controlled by robber barons and guarded by undead pythons with three heads and talking testicles. But now? We just need to be willing to occasionally tackle a two-drink minimum.

The thing about the spin-cycle of the media now is that it's impossible to remember what got someone famous in the first place. Was Hal Sparks hatched in a snark lab by Talk Soup? Is Queer as Folk a spin-off of I Love The '80s? What would Marshall McLuhan make of Celebracadabra? Clearly, Sparks is some kind of pop culture two-sport athlete.

[Fri.-Sat., 5.30-5.31. Comedy Connection. Faneuil Hall, 2nd Fl. Quincy Market Building., Boston. 8pm&10:15pm/21+/$25-$27. comedyconnectionboston.com]

One of the main differences between music and stand-up is that when a bunch of musicians get together to do a charity single or show, the result often feels like a tanker filled with shit crashing into a tower of sadness. Stand-up benefits on the other hand, are awesome and Laugh For A Cure features some hometown favorites plus returning champs: Myq Kaplan, Micah Sherman, Joe List, Harrison Stebbins, Paul Nardizzi and more. It will have way more intentional laughs than Hear N'Aid, trust me.

[Thu. 6.5. 1236 Mass. Ave., Harvard Sq. 8pm/all ages/$30. 617.661.6507. thecomedystudio.com]

If Chris Rock's 1996 Bring The Pain special catapulted him to the world of terrible buddy movies, it also acted as an enormously promising comedy cotillion. Except he's not an adolescent girl and most cotillions keep usage of "motherfucker" in the double digits. Still, the simile works, especially with the hindsight offered by the solid work Rock's done since. He's a brilliant performer: cutting, daring, revelatory and more than good enough live to make up for Lethal Weapon 4.

[Sat. 6.14. Wang Theatre. 270 Tremont St., Boston. 617.482.9393. 7pm&10pm/$45.50-$75.50. citicenter.org]

While no one was looking, Craig Ferguson turned The Late Late Show into a charming and funny little post-Letterman snack. Then, everyone started looking, but the pressure isn't all bad. Like Letterman, Ferguson's best moments are his jumpiest, when he's forced to think on his feet and react in the moment. There should be plenty of those live.

[Sat. 7.12. Faneuil Hall, 2nd Floor Quincy Market Building., Boston. 617.248.9700. 8pm/21+/$TBD. comedyconnectionboston.com]

PIRATES, CHARLATANS AND BORIS

dayvidday — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:33:30 -0400

No one likes BO. Although, I suppose, there are some fetishists out there that might. And if it's on a French girl I suppose we'd let it slide. The point is, getting in a van in the dead of winter with a group of buds and careening from town to town while stinking up the Econoline is unappealing. So, when summer comes—and the windows of said van can at least be rolled down—bands hit the road with gear in tow. Or in a luxury bus with a kilo in the mini-fridge and a host of roadcrew. All the same, this is summer. This is when we rock.

And summer doesn't start until the River Rave is over. This year, the WBCN-sponsored extravaganza gets exxxtravaganzied with a glued-together Stone Temple Pilots reunion (or, as my sister-in-law thought they were called, "The Stoned Pimpled Pirates"). The '90stalgia doesn't end there—don't overlook the Southie-informed style of Everlast, the pogo-go of Pennywise and Filter (remember "Hey Man, Nice Shot"?). We may or may not be of the mind that the most exciting part of this Tweeter Center bill is local Rumble winners Girls, Guns and Glory.

[Sun. 6.1. 885 S. Main St., Mansfield. 508.339.2333. 4pm/18+/$25-$45. ticketmaster.com]

As one of the most distinctive voices in American song, Stevie Nicks has the kind of lovely rasp that makes any song her own. Add that to her legendary rock & roll lifestyle and a playlist that reads like a jukebox and it adds up to a rollicking good time. For her stop at the Bank of America Pavilion, we're hoping she pulls out all her draperies and handkerchiefs and gets mad witchy on us. Shit, light a pyre or a cauldron or something.

[Sun. 6.22. 290 Northern Ave., Boston. 617.728.1600. 7:30pm/$35-$85. bankofamericapavilion.com]

Louis Hector Berlioz was an original gangsta. At a time when everyone was overlooking the French Romantic for the more hip and hard German style, Berlioz composed hugely elaborate symphonies, wrote 50 songs for voice and piano and even constructed assassination plots—all this while suffering from severe intestinal pain (shades of Cobain). Leave it to James Levine's Boston Symphony Orchestra to rock their Opening Night at Tanglewood concert with this fucking quackintosh.

[Sat. 7.5. Koussevitzky Music Shed, Lenox. 617.266.1492. 8:30pm/$19-$99. tanglewood.org]

You know her and you love her. Admit it. Give in to the power of Feist. From her nerdy days playing bass in something called Noah's Arkweld to her triumphal reign as queen of the iPod Nano ("1234"), we're not ashamed to say, "You've Come a Long Way, Baby." And now, she ain't playing TT's, she's not playing the Middle East, she's not even at the Paradise. She's at the Bank of American Pavilion. Welcome to the big time, Leslie.

[Tue. 7.8. 290 Northern Ave., Boston. 617.728.1600. 7:30pm/$25-$35. bankofamericapavilion.com]

Nothing says fun in the summertime like the mind-pulverizing, oblivion-embracing Japanese psych terror machine/bulldozer of Boris. From releases on their own label (Fangs Anal Satan, fuck yeah) to collaborations with the brain-numbing noise ninja Merzbow, this trio knows how to shred synapses like they were Iran-Contra memos. The Middle East Downstairs

better make room onstage for their freakin' gong.

[Fri. 7.11. 480 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617.864.3278. 8pm/ $13 adv./$15 dos./18+. mideastclub.com]

The last time our Mr. Chris Brokaw was seen in the company of the Kadane Brothers they made a luminous and still-excellent dry pop LP as The New Year. For this show at the Middle East Upstairs, Los Humanos Kadane—also once responsible for the sublime Bedhead project—headline on their own with Brokaw as the solo-opener. Here's hoping they play at least one track together. Might I recommend "Gasoline"? "The Block That Doesn't Exist"? Uno canción por favor?

[Sat. 7.12. 472 Mass. Ave., Cambridge. 617.864.3278. 9pm/$9 adv./$10 dos./18+. mideastclub.com]

For a shift of gears, head northward for the Lowell Summer Music Series and its lovely outdoor events filled with folk. There's no end to the household names playing throughout the summer (Taj Mahal, Levon Helm, Indigo Girls, you get the idea), but mid-July sees Americana folkstress and country street-kicker Lucinda Williams bring a little more edge to the proceedings. Her biography will be a best seller someday. But let's just say this: Bob Dylan hand-picked her to open on one of his tours. Enough said.

[Fri. 7.18. 67 Kirk St., Lowell. 978.970.5200. 7:30pm/$30 adv.,$35 dos. lowellsummermusic.org]

We missed them the last two times they played Great Scott, and now we've got egg on our face. The danceable fun sound of MGMT has struck gold, they've gone all the way to the TV (Conan, Jools Holland, et. al.). Later this summer they hit our town again just before gliding over to Lollapalooza in Chicago. This time, they're rocking the bigger space over at the Paradise. *slaps forehead*

[Thu. 7.23 967 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. 617.562.8800. 7pm/18+/$15. thedise.com]

Yeah, yeah, you hear it every summer. The Rock the Bells tour at the Tweeter Center is gonna be the jump off and the equivalent of a hip-hop Woodstock (the original, not the one with all the fire). But guess what? This time it is: De La Soul, Mos Def, Rakim, Spank Rock, Amanda Blank, Santogold, Kid Sister, Murs, Dead Prez, Wu delegates Method Man, Raekwon and Ghostface and um, A motherfucking reunited Tribe Called Quest. I just peed in my pants. A lot.

[Sat. 7.26. 885 S. Main St., Mansfield. 508.339.2333. 6:30pm/18+/$TBD. ticketmaster.com]

There's only one Newport Folk Festival and there will always be just one Newport Folk Festival. Despite the annual tradition of folkies grumbling and grousing that times ain't what they used to be, it's one of the few American gatherings that's never completely lost sight of its folk-loving ways. Maybe the two aren't mutually exclusive. This year's model includes the wind-swept sound of Calexico, why-did-Tweedy-get-all-the-love Son Volt, the Black Crowes and Artist of the Year 2008 Cat Power. One problem—headliner Jimmy Buffett. Commence thy grousery!

[Fri.-Sun., 8.1-8.3. Fort Adams State Park, Newport, RI. 877.655.4849. 10am/$15-$148. festivalnetwork.com]

By the time August is in mid-throw, there's a certain piece of us that want to head to Worcester and bound around like a kangaroo on Red Bull with ants in its pants. Lucky enough, our friends at The Palladium have answered the call with a bill that features the rah-rah rock of The Go! Team, supported by Brazilian funkateers and funkaholics Cansei de Ser Sexy (or CSS if you don't like foreigners). Pairing these two together is like mixing multiple Pixy Stix into a bowl of Captain Crunch—not advised for anyone over the age of 16.

[Sat., 8.9. 261 Main St., Worcester. 508.797.9696. 7:30pm, $22 adv; $25 dos. Thepalladium.net]

ART FUCKIN RULES

dayvidday — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:17:13 -0400

The beach. Baseball games. Barbeque and beer. This is summer. Yet in this town of 10,000 schools and more open studios than ants, art abounds. The breadth of work from Waltham to South Boston and back can be a bit weighty, so we'll do what we do and separate the ... er ... "wheat" from the whatchamacallit ... "chaff" with these suggestions for seven stellar sojourns.

Begin with Fredo Conde at the Artists Foundation in Southie. Conde's work has evolved from an earlier critique of consumerism, with sculptures of counterfeit luxury goods, into abstractions of economics itself. He uses handmade molded-plastic and cardboard shipping boxes to literally and figuratively frame works that draw upon colonial systems and imagery. There's also the nearby Proof or LaMontange Gallery, and of course, perfect pints are everywhere in Southie.

[Fredo Conde. 5.31-7.12. Artists Foundation, Main Gallery. 516 East Second St., Boston. artistsfoundation.org]

The New England Gallery of Latin American Art starts off its summer with Raul Gonzales'' solo show, Chingasos, slang for "to go to blows." Gonzales illustrated the life of the Mexican boxing legend, El Chango Verde, whose story is an archetype of many immigrants. Gonzales, a native of El Paso, Tex., spent many of his younger days in Juarez, Mexico., where his grandmother would send him off to sell Chiclets to touristas. Seriously.

[Raul Gonzales. 5.5-6.5. New England Gallery of Latin American Art. 184 Cottage St., East Boston. neglaa.com]

CineMental, a monthly screening of experimental queer cinema at the Brattle Theatre, presents Caravaggio, a biopic directed by filmmaker and gay rights activist Derek Jarman on May 21. The 1986 film comes replete with immaculate scene re-creations of Caravaggio paintings that took as long to light as the artist took to paint the originals ... a smattering of male nudity.

[CineMental presents: Caravaggio. 5.21. Brattle Theatre. 40 Brattle St., Cambridge. 9:30pm/$10. brattlefilm.org]

Also on the experimental film tip, MIT's List Visual Art Center features Chantal Ackerman: Moving through Time and Space. Though Ackerman is known for her works in which nothing happens, expect a bit of movement and the passage of time; the center allows you to come and go as you please, which might be necessary. While there, check out some Photogravure prints by Björk's beau, Matthew Barney, in the List's Dean Gallery.

[Chantal Ackerman. 5.2-7.6. MIT's List Visual Art Center. 20 Ames St., Building E15, Atrium Level, Cambridge. mit.edu]

[Matthew Barney. 3.10-7.11. The List Dean's Gallery. 50 Memorial Drive, Building E52 Fourth Floor Room 466, Cambridge. mit.edu]

For the Boston University Photographic Resource Center's 13th Annual Juried Exhibition, EXPOSURE, juror Lesley A. Martin chose several photographers who concentrate their work on the eccentric. Photographs of the abnormal will always make us feel more normal. Be prepared for some idiosyncratic approaches to current issues, however, as several of the photographers attempt to re-represent the Iraq war and its discontents. Yay war.

[Lesley A. Martin. 5.23-7.2. Photographic Resource Center, Boston University. 832 Comm. Ave., Boston. bu.edu/prc]

Acting! Genius!

dayvidday — Tue, 20 May 2008 15:03:31 -0400

The season of sun sees the students pile out of town (thank god), but unfortunately it also has theaters across the city emptying out like the gallows after they've cut down the body. I've always wondered what theater artists do during the off-season ... I suspect the answer is "wait tables," or "turn tricks" or "cry."

Still, the summer isn't completely devoid of stagey fun. '08 offers the usual new play fests, outdoor productions and freaky fringe shows. You'll make it through.

Shut Up! Slow Down! I Can Handle This!

I'm not sure which tickles me more—the notion of a National Theatre taking up residence in my little ghetto, or the fact that this night of one-acts looks to be much more than your usual pensive-around-the-dinner-table fare. Three new plays from Artistic Director Wesley Savick and a couple of his Suffolk U protégées feature dancing robots, a metaphysical trip to Baghdad and a showdown between a fire-breathing dragon and a soused king. Sign me up.

[Through 5.24, Wed.-Sat. 8pm. Sun. 4pm. National Theatre of Allston at the Boston Playwright's Theatre, 949 Comm. Ave., Boston. 617.353.5443. $10. bu.edu/bpt]

Impossible Things

Hailing from Lynn (switchblades away, S.V.P.), Imaginary Beasts is one of those rare companies that can call itself "innovative" and actually mean it. They're all about the avant-garde and the physical, and they're not even pretentious about it. Like many of their productions, Impossible Things is a world premiere by Matthew Woods and his ensemble. It's Lewis Carroll's Wonderland through the eyes of more obscure characters, like the White Rabbit's maid. Who, y'know, cleans up the droppings.

[6.5-6.14. Thu. 7:30pm, Fri. 8pm, Sat 3pm&8pm, Sun 3pm. Imaginary Beasts at Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St., South End, Boston. 617.426.5000. $17.75. bcaonline.org]

Essential Self-Defense

As local companies go, the Gurnet definitely wins the youth vote. Their recent Boston shows, This is Our Youth and Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead, were all about teens fucking up and liking it. Essential Self-Defense, the recent effort of playwright-cum-indie-kid Adam Rapp, is about a lonely dude who signs on as an attack dummy for a women's self-defense class. Apparently there are some disappearing children as well.

[6.13-6.28. Wed.–Fri. 8pm, Sat. 3pm&8pm, Sun. 3pm. Gurnet Theatre Project at the Boston Center for the Arts, 539 Tremont St., South End, Boston. 617.426.5000. $18-$25. bcaonline.org]

What the Butler Saw

British playwright Joe Orton's career was cut short in 1967 when his lover beat him to death with a hammer. Tough times. What the Butler Saw premiered two years later, to an audience so scandalized they actually started shouting, "Filth!" By today's standards the play ain't that raunchy—but it's still sexy, mod, farcey fun. Best of all, W.H.A.T.'s production stars Max Wright ... otherwise known as the dad from ALF. Willie?!?!

[6.19-7.12. Wed.–Fri. 8pm, Sat. 3:30pm. Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theater, 1 Kendrick Ave., Wellfleet. 508.349.9428. $32. what.org]

Gods, Monsters, and the Other

The new play festival is a staple of any urban summer, and Fort Point Theatre Channel is jumping on the bandwagon. Deviance is the common thread that runs through these six works, most receiving world premieres from the community-lovin' Fort Point-based company. Topics include climate change, necrophilia, family dysfunction and—of course—love slaves. All of this supposedly has something to do with Buddhism and the quest for perfection; but let's take it one step at a time, shall we?

[6.27-6.28. Fri.–Sat., 8pm. Fort Point Theatre Channel at Midway Studios. 15 Channel Center St., Boston. 617.750.8900. $15. fortpointtheatrechannel.org]

The Seagull and Hay Fever

If you must see a play during the warmer months, it might as well be outdoors. Who wants to sit in a dark theater when there are, like, fireflies and stuff outside, right? The normally Shakespeare-happy Publick skips past the Bard this year to bring us Chekov and Noel Coward—per usual, under the starry sky. Coward's aren't-cocktail-parties-the-best-ever romp Hay Fever is par for the course. The bigger deal is a spankin'-new translation of The Seagull by Publick Artistic Director Diego Arciniegas.

[7.9-9.7 (The Seagull) and 7.30-9.14 (Hay Fever). Publick Theatre, 1175A Soldiers Field Rd., Brighton. 617.454.1001. publicktheatre.com]

As You Like It

Commonwealth's productions are hands down the most well-attended plays in Boston for two big reasons. A) It's free, and B) You could end up accidentally watching the show whilst lighting up a doob on a park bench in the Common. Shakespeare's tale of mistaken identity and cross-dressing in the Forest of Arden is perfect for the summer. My advice—don't bring your dog. Dogs don't appreciate Elizabethan comedy like you'd think they would. And don't ever, ever smoke weed. Ever.

[7.18-8.3. Fri.–Sat. 8pm. Sun. 7pm. Commonwealth Shakespeare Company in the Boston Common. 617.482.9393. citicenter.org]

JENNY

dayvidday — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:52:03 -0400

You're wearing Paul Pierce's jersey. He did a great job tonight.

I'm a big fan. Paul Pierce is clutch. That was really exciting at the end when that free throw almost didn't go in.

He seems like a good-natured guy.

I was very proud to be wearing his shirt today.

You're wearing other gear, too. What's this?

These are marathon shorts. You can't go wrong with green in Boston.

I went to Kansas University with Paul Pierce. We had a class together ... "Sexual Identities."

[laughs] Did you figure it out?

Uh ... still working on it. What are you going to do for the next series?

I'll wear my jersey everyday. I'll sleep in it. I'll wear it under my scrubs for extra luck.

Oh, so you're a doctor? What kind of doctor?

Anesthesiologist.

My friend's dad had a joke he'd always tell his patients before they drifted off to sleep ... What do airplanes do before they take off?

I dunno what?

They taxi to the runway.

Haha, yeah, you don't even have to tell good jokes.

A.J. CHICKEN

dayvidday — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:49:16 -0400

You must get a lot of hen-action in that suit.

Every now and then, you might need a hen, you know what I'm saying? But sometimes when you don't need a hen you already got a hen. Right now, all the hens that I have, I don't need a hen. But the hens steady coming.

They still come?

They always coming. They can't resist me. I mean, look at my pecker.

So what do you do with the hens you don't need?

Normally, I just bang them out.

Chicken-train.

Chicken-train them that's right.

You're selling chicken wings. What about those chickens? What you got against them?

I got nothing with them.

How do people get a hold of you?

The females, all they gotta do is grab a hold of me. Male chickens, they can call me up. Maybe I can get them one of my hens.

White meat or dark meat?

Don't get that twisted from OJ Simpson. He likes the white meat, know what I'm sayin?

What's your favorite part of the chicken?

Oh, I'm a breast man.

Michael Beatty

dayvidday — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:46:45 -0400

At first glance, Michael Beatty's sculptures are simply tangles of wood and metal (well, tangles of metal and "how the fuck did he get wood to bend that way?!?"), but on closer inspection they become statements about boundaries and the interactions between shapes. The Trouble with Painting, composed of plywood, maple veneer and steel, features four wildly curved thin plywood rods joined by four steel right-angle pieces. It could be the frame of a two-dimensional work twisted boldly into 3-D. In other sculptures, such as A Circuitous Route to You and Untitled (twist/hold), metal frameworks are actively integrated with wooden designs, both supporting and seeming to restrain them. Perimeter, Beatty's upcoming show at the Barbara Krakow Gallery, features a series of "circumference/perimeter" paintings. These visually simple images are composed of rigid, geometric lines paired with flowing, organic ones. The geometric and organic shapes have equal perimeters, so it's easy to stare at them for minutes trying to figure out how one shape translates into the other. Untitled (white loop), one of the pieces in the show, is mind-warping: Two pieces of wood curl around each other, suggesting a Möbius strip. Never mind that he's making chopsticks do yoga; the shapes alone are amazing.

[5.24-6.1. Tue.-Sat. Barbara Krakow Gallery, 10 Newbury St., Boston. 617.262.4490. 10am-5:30pm. free. barbarakrakowgallery.com]

BRIAN VIGLIONE

dayvidday — Tue, 20 May 2008 14:44:16 -0400

When you hear about the Dresden Dolls, you generally hear from the magnanimous and charismatic front lady Amanda Palmer. But now that their latest CD—No, Virginia—is in stores now, we went to Mr. Viglione, the punk rock and free jazz fanatic who too often sits behind the kit for Ms. Palmer.

I'VE ALREADY ADDED TRACKS FROM YES, VIRGINIA... TO MY IPOD. WHY SHOULD I ADD NO, VIRGINIA?

That's kind of like asking, "I just had a hot make-out session with my girlfriend in bed and already took off my shirt. Why should I take off the rest?" If it was enjoyable up to that point, it might be worth exploring it further.

HOW DOES THE NEW RECORD DEPART FROM YES?

No, Virginia is a catchier, quicker-paced album.

IF YOU WERE A CAT, WHAT KIND OF TREE WOULD YOU BE?

o_O

I'M MODERATELY INFATUATED WITH YOU. WILL YOU BE MY DATE TO SENIOR PROM?

Thank you for the compliment, but one prom was torture enough.

PLEASE COMPOSE AN ORIGINAL HAIKU ABOUT EITHER YOUR CHOICE PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE OR WHY PEOPLE SHOULD BUY THE NEW DRESDEN DOLLS RECORD.

Barrack, Hillary,

They both rock our new album

McCain ran screaming

[No, Virginia by the Dresden Dolls is in stores now. The next Boston-area appearance is with Keith Lockhart and the Boston Pops. Srsly. Thu.-Fri., 6.19-6.20. Symphony Hall, 301 Mass. Ave., Boston. 8pm/all ages/$20-$55. 617.266.2378. bso.org]