The folks at Little Tree Gallery were nice enough to send us photos from Saturday night's Lacey Jane Roberts exhibit opening - the highlight being her some 10-foot tall crank-knit yarn fence with steel poles and assorted hardware. Our Michael Leaverton recently described the last funky fence Roberts put up - read about that here.
Opening photos by Lauren Anderson and piece pix by Matthew Hughes Boyko. (Many more beneath the fold!) --Janine Kahn
Don't front like you haven't sang "White Wedding" and "Mony Mony" at every Karaoke Bar you've been to. Spare your lovely singing voice and check out Billy Idol at the Fillmore on June 26 when he brings the real deal. Tickets go on sale Sunday, May 11 at 10 a.m. --Oscar Pascual
Super cute two-girl White Stripes-y opening band called Two Seconds.
My friend Tara reporting that there was someone in the bathroom, pooping, and talking to her friend on the phone about pooping. "Oh my god, it's so weird to be pooping in a bar!"
A pair of the kind of girls who are so pretty and funny they're distracting everyone in the place with their teal zebra-stripes and '80s lace stockings.
The band we came to see, Venus and Mars, psych-Brit-popping the hell out of some beautiful songs and not only wearing matching short-sleeved button-up shirts but also featuring a 12-string guitar.
My new phrase for anything you feel may be awkwardly attracted to, sexually or otherwise: "I want to slow dance with it." So I want to slow dance with the photobooth, which is so skilled that it causes the two distracting girls to lay around on the floor for a while, and puts Tara and I in the right place at the right time to hear a woman yell from the back of the room "The music is adequate!" --Hiya Swanhuyser
Who is James Pants? Only the latest musical genius to come out of the Stones Throw camp. See him in action this Friday, May 9, at Amnesia, as he'll be providing delectable beats of assorted varieties. From 80s soul to rap to post-punk disco, Pants has it all covered. Check out James Pants' debut album, Welcome, for further proof. Plus, you get free stickers if you buy it on iTunes. --Oscar Pascual
Case in point: Friday Soft Circle is one of the acts performing at the Luggage Store gallery's sweet sounding zine bash. The event features two-dozen zine scribes at a show that runs through June 14. Don't miss the opening party Friday, May 9, though, from 6 until 8 p.m. That Hisham makes some killer tracks that'll massage those weekday kinks right outta your head. -- Jennifer Maerz
The Dandy Warhols (Portland's cocky popsters, made legendary in the war of the egos documentary Dig!) are self-releasing a new album this summer called Earth to the Dandy Warhols.
They have a new MP3 available now, though. You can measure for yourself how the attitude measures up to the output by checking out the free MP3, "The World The People Together (Come On)" here. -- Jennifer Maerz
A.J. Fosik "Old Mr. Grieves Possessed by a Ghost on the Way to the Well"
An artist out of Philadelphia, AJ Fosik creates amazing animal sculptures out of wood, and very colorful paintings. His work features elements that you are no doubt familiar with, but pushes them in a direction that makes these works serious eye candy such as the print shown. The print is a 3 color silkscreen and is limited to only 75. You can see some of the elements he uses in his sculptural work, such as the patterns seen throughout the print.
Quarter Century
Creativity Explored - 3245 16th St. at Dolores
Something in us rebels; we love to see mistreated people get up and tell power where to shove it. This is why we like to see Johnny Cash angry, this is the cause of our undying admiration for the Black Panthers, and this is the reason it felt so joyous to learn about an exhibit of art made by adults with developmental disabilities titled "Don't Call Me Retard." It was a production of San Francisco's famous Creativity Explored, which does nothing but teach art to people often overlooked and called names. At "Quarter Century," the gallery and studio celebrates its vast successes by pulling together work from its own amazing permanent collection, including pieces by artists who have since become superstars of the art world, including our own fave, Fears of Your Life author and text-based art guru, Michael Bernard Loggins. Other widely collected artists appearing here include John Patrick McKenzie, Douglas Sheran, and Vincent Jackson. But mostly, the art center and its artists are about courage, and being fabulous, and self-expression, not about money or fame. A gala event on May 15 at Foreign Cinema features clips from Ben Wu's Academy Award-winning film about the place, Cross Your Eyes, Keep Them Wide, in addition to a silent auction, live music, and treats. --Hiya Swanhuyser
