Sure it’s cold, but that doesn’t mean you have to stay cooped up at home
all winter. UC Davis’ hottest tickets this quarter include a
full-length opera, shows by more than a few world-famous musicians and
movies featuring Johnny Depp as a chameleon and Neil Patrick Harris as a
blind tutor. We know you don’t want to miss out on any of this, so read
on for details.MUSIC
30 Seconds to Mars (Jan. 16)
After a number of electronic and dance performances, the Entertainment Council is shaking things up by bringing alternative rock band 30 Seconds to Mars to Freeborn on Sunday, Jan. 16.
According to Tim Zamanigan, Assistant Director of the Entertainment Council, students can expect a great show.
“Their performances are always a spectacle, and [lead signer Jared] Leto’s a great showman. Hopefully both current fans and students who enjoyed listening to them in high school will come out for the show, they won’t be disappointed.”
The band, famous for their songs “The Kill” and “From Yesterday,” have gained recent attention in the media with their new music video for their single “Hurricane.” The video was momentarily banned from MTV due to explicit images of sex and violence, and interest in the video erupted once again when the uncensored version was released online in December.
There are still a number of students tickets left, selling for $24.50. Advance general admission tickets are $29.50, and tickets bought on the day of the show will be $30. Go to the Entertainment Council’s Facebook page for updates and more information.
– Anneta Konstantinides
RJD2 (Jan. 27)
You might have gotten a Facebook invite to get him here and thanks to you, the Entertainment Council has scheduled the arrival of RDJ2 to our campus. Described by Pitchfork magazine as “the hottest new artist on the Def Jux [record label],” RJD2 will be showing the Freeborn Hall stage great lovin’ on Jan. 27. Eliquate, “the live hip-hop party band from Santa Cruz”, is also scheduled to take on the stage. RJD2’s compilation of beats and variance of electronica and synth-sound will definitely be a unique spectacle to experience live. As for what you should expect from this event? Dancing – and a lot of it.
Tickets are $18 for students. For more information, go to the Entertainment Council’s Facebook page.
– Uyen Cao
Social Distortion (Feb. 1)
Orange County-based punk/rock and roll band Social Distortion will jam inside Freeborn Hall a week after the release of its newest album, Hard Times and Nursery Rhymes. Social Distortion has released a number of albums and has also been featured on live performance DVDs. The band has already sold out shows in Tempe, Ariz. and Anaheim, Calif.
The concert begins at 7 p.m. and features Lucero, a rock and roll band from Memphis, Tenn., and Chuck Ragan, an acoustic guitarist and gifted songwriter. It is an all all-day musical festivity brought to you by the Entertainment Council.
Advance tickets are $30 and tickets bought the day of the performance are $33. Go to the Entertainment Council’s Facebook for more information.
– Lea Murillo
Joshua Bell (Feb. 9)
At the start of February expect the Mondavi to get a little more classical as former child violin prodigy Joshua Bell is joined by Jeremy Denk, piano, on February Feb. 9 at 8 p.m. in Jackson Hall. Grammy recipient Bell performed on the Oscar-winning soundtrack for The Red Violin. His most recent CD called At Home With Friends was released at the end of 2009 and sold more than five million copies. Now in his 40s, the violinist is counted among the influential and most respected chamber and classical musicians.
“Joshua Bell is the violinist of his generation,” said Christopher Reynolds, chair of the department of music. “He is charismatic, supremely musical, and interested in a wide variety of music.”
Accompanying Bell is Jeremy Denk, recipient of the 1997 Avery Fisher Career Grant. The versatile pianist performs a variety of works, from the 18th and 19th century to the modern masters.
Regular tickets start at $50 while student tTickets start at $25 and are available at the Mondavi Box Office. For more information visit mondaviarts.org.
– Anastasia Zhuravleva
Lady Gaga (Mar. 23)
Lady Gaga has, in a sense, started somewhat of a revolution where music, fashion, and attitude converge as a collective art form. Her performance at Sacramento’s Arco Arena will undoubtedly display these intersections. At her concert, Gaga will perform songs from her two critically acclaimed albums The Fame and The Fame Monster, an album that Gaga says deals with the “darker side of fame” and “compares to the yin and yang concept.”
Why will this concert be undoubtedly epic? Lady Gaga never fails to deliver a topnotch performance, be it live or on her albums. Not only does she write her own songs, but her cover art always gives us more to look at than just a scantily-clad pop star flashing pearly whites. Perhaps even more important is the fact that when we listen to her, we know that it is Lady Gaga we’re listening to, and are reminded of everything she stands for: experimental pop, the blending of dance music with theatrical performance, and modern emblem for non-monosexuality.
“I love how she is unique and not afraid to be out there,” said junior biological sciences major Ivan Hernandez. “Seriously, her music, creativity, fashion – who wouldn’t want to see a fierce diva perform on stage?”
Go to arcoarena.com for more information.
– Eleni Stephanides
