MUSIC
Relient K, Owl City, Runner Runner
Today, 8 p.m., $18 in advance, $20 day of show
The Boardwalk in Orangevale
I was born secular, but that doesn’t mean that I can’t appreciate the agreeable, if not catchy, pop punk of Ohio group Relient K, even if they make the occasional illusion to the man upstairs. They certainly are sneaky about it, those ones.
UNITY
Today, 8 p.m., $10 in advance
Freeborn Hall
Other than the Wellman Pit during Whole Earth Festival, I don’t see electronic music getting its fair share of attention on campus. This scarcity changes with UNITY, a rave presented by newly formed student group Electronic Music for Change. All proceeds go to the UC Davis Children’s Hospital. Any UC Davis ticketholder can bring one guest; tickets will not be sold at the door.
Weinland, Shelley Short, Kevin Lee
Today, 10 p.m., $3, 21
Sophia’s Thai Kitchen
Get ready for a night of raging out on the town – and by raging, I mean a night of quiet folk on Sophia’s red tinted porch. Fans of Loch Lomond and Horse Feathers should easily find a friend in the stripped down sounds of Weinland. Meanwhile, Portland native Shelley Short specializes in country-twanged folk lullabies.
Order of the Golden Mirror, Lynus, David Houston
Friday, 8 p.m., $5
Luigi’s Fun Garden in Sacramento
What? You didn’t see Order of the Golden Mirror when they had a set at the Coho earlier this month? The group has onstage presence, to say the least; don’t miss out on their glam-rock antics as the eight-piece group dominates the stage at everyone’s favorite pizza place-turned-music venue.
Shayna and the Bulldog, Buxter Hoot’n
Friday, 10 p.m., $3, 21
Sophia’s Thai Kitchen
Davis band Shayna and the Bulldog earned themselves the rare – but not impossible – rating of 5 by an Aggie arts reviewer. Check out page 4 for the reasoning.
Lydia, Play Radio Play, Eye Alaska, Brave Citizen
Saturday, 8 p.m., $5
Luigi’s Fun Garden in Sacramento
Lydia reminds me of the kind of music I would listen to in high school, a place I reached long after my boy band phase and shortly after rejecting the emo scene. The band balances the whimsy emotion of the Decemberists with the catchiness of Copeland for a mature mix suitable for anyone in grade 10.
Tyler Hilton, Keaton Simons, Liz Hackett
Saturday, 8 p.m., $13 in advance, $15 day of show
The Boardwalk in Orangevale
Tyler Hilton started out as an actor playing music stars – notably, that one singing dude in teen drama “One Tree Hill” and as a young Elvis Presley in Walk the Line. In other words, pretty boy pop rock at its prettiest.
Burglars, Brother Time, Jon Bafus
Saturday, 10 p.m., free
Technocultural Studies Building (formerly Art Annex)
The kids of KDVS are plenty knowledgeable it comes to music, so when some basement insiders make their own stuff, I trust that it should be good.
The California Honeydrops
Saturday, 10 p.m., $3, 21
Sophia’s Thai Kitchen
Besides being appreciative of their rootin’ tootin’ all around good timey blues music, I’m especially grateful that the Oakland group is nothing like the California Raisins. That would just be creepy.
AT THE MOVIES
Tournées Festival of French and Francophone Films
Friday to Sunday, 7 p.m., free
Technocultural Studies Building
Sure, you can watch any ol’ Ron Howard summer blockbuster, but where’s the fun in that? Plus, this is free! Presented by the film studies program, this year’s festival kicks off with Elle S’Appelle Sabine (Her Name is Sabine).
ART / GALLERY
2009 MFA Exhibition
Opens tomorrow at the Nelson Gallery
Five graduating students in the MFA program will present their work – Julia Elsas, Crystal Hauter, Cynthia Horn, Evie Leder, Josh Short. An opening reception will take place Friday at 6 p.m.
Co/Lab Exhibit Reception
Today, 5 p.m., free
The Art Lounge (Memorial Union second floor)
The art and design collective of Co/Lab was founded back in 2006, and the artistic kiddies today continue to work together.
THEATER / MONDAVI
Private Eyes
Today through Saturday, 8 p.m. and Sunday, 2 p.m., $14 general admission, $12 with a student ID
Wyatt Pavilion Theatre
A comedy of suspicion featuring layers of deception and lustful affairs? I’m intrigued, to say the least. MFA candidate Candice Andrews directs. Tickets can be purchased online at theatredance.ucdavis.edu.
COMEDY
Birdstrike Theatre XII: Freedom Fighters
Friday, 7:30 p.m., $2 in advance, $3 at the door
123 Science Lecture Hall
Can giggles help win the fight for freedom? Student improv group Birdstrike Theatre has the answers. Purchase tickets in advance at the Freeborn Box Office.
RACHEL FILIPINAS can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.
