MUSIC
Hardwater
Friday, 7:30 p.m., $9
Veterans Memorial Theater, 203 E. 14th St.
Davis-based Hardwater performs original songs and covers from bands such as the Beatles, Counting Crows, Grateful Dead and Barenaked Ladies. The band features guitar, violin, mandolin and more.
Typhoon, AgesandAges
Saturday, 8 p.m., $10
Sophia’s Thai Kitchen, 129 E St.
Sophia’s welcomes two large ensembles on Saturday night. Typhoon counts 19 musicians as contributors and utilizes them to the fullest with big, bold arrangements. AgesandAges is a seven-piece outfit that captures Americana at its finest.
Tango Twosome
Sunday, 5 p.m., $10
Davis Art Center, 1919 F St.
Cellists Priscilla Hawkins and Patricia Valentine will perform a rollicking set of duets, covering such diverse styles as classical, jazz, contemporary and tango. A great opportunity to listen to two masters doing what they do best.
Davis Performers Circle featuring Nat Lefkoff
Monday, 7:15 p.m., free
Village Homes Community Center, 2661 Portage Bay
Musicians of all ages are invited to sign up for performance slots at the monthly Village Homes Performers Circle. In addition, featured singer-songwriter Nat Lefkoff will give a special performer. The 16-year-old Davis native will perform original compositions.
THEATER / MONDAVI
Mark O’Connor’s Hot Swing with Julian Lage
Tonight, 8 p.m., $12.50
Mondavi Center, Jackson hall
All that jazz! The Mondavi Center welcomes master jazz musicians Mark O’Connor on violin and guitarist Julian Lage on guitar for a night of all-American tunes, including some of O’Connor and Lage’s original compositions. Fun fact: Lage was a child guitar prodigy and even played with Carlos Santana at age eight.
UC Davis Clarinet Festival
Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m., $8
Mondavi Center, Vanderhoef Studio Theater
Clarinet lovers, unite. This two-day festival will feature performances by Jose Gonzalez Granero, principle clarinetist of the San Francisco Opera, Ann Lanvin, and more. For once, the clarinet will be center-stage in this musical extravaganza event.
Empyrean Ensemble: Americans in Rome
Sunday, 7 p.m., $8
Mondavi Center, Vanderhoef Studio Theater
UC Davis Ensemble-in-Residence the Empyrean Ensemble explores that ever-romanticized notion of Americans in Italy. The program includes Martin Bresnick’s Bird as Prophet for Violin and Piano, Keeril Makan’s Mu for Solo Violin and Laura Schwendinger’s Song for Andrew for Piano Quartet. All compositions are from roughly the last decade.
Daniel Handler: Why Does Lemony Snicket Keep Following Me?
Wednesday, 8 p.m., $12.50
Mondavi Center, Jackson Hall
What happens to an author after he writes a million-dollar children’s book series and becomes a household name? That’s the struggle Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket of the “Series of Unfortunate Events” books, will discuss in this engaging lecture. Get ready to find out all you ever wanted to know (and more) about the man behind “Lemony Snicket.”
AT THE MOVIES
The Idiot Cycle
Wednesday, 6 p.m., free
1130 Hart
We all think we know where cancer comes from, but do we really? That’s the question that The Idiot Cycle attempts to answer in this controversial documentary. The film has not received distribution in North America so it is currently on tour on college campuses around the country. Don’t miss this opportunity to see a startling and eye-opening film.
ART / GALLERY
American Gothic: Regionalist Portraiture from the Collection
Through March 13, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., free
Nelson Gallery, University Club
Local artists are the focus of this unique new collection at the brand-new Nelson Gallery facility. Works demonstrate how the artists view their communities, societies and neighbors in styles that borrow from European traditions but are completely American.
ROBIN MIGDOL can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.
