MUSIC
Sing It On: Local Tones
Friday, 8 p.m., free
Social Sciences 1100
The Spokes and The Afterglow will host all the UC Davis a capella groups in a concert Friday night. All-male group The TA, from UC Santa Cruz, will also perform. Donations will also be accepted and will go toward the Spokes’ ongoing charity, the Daraja Academy school in East Africa.
Operation: Restore Maximum Freedom XI
Saturday, 2 p.m., $15
Plainfield Station, 23944 County Road 98, Woodland
Are you ready for another all-day music extravaganza out in the boonies of Woodland?! Yes, I thought so. The 11th installment of KDVS 90.3 FM’s low-cost answer to the big college music festivals will include Alak, Moon Pearl, Ellie Fortune, Produce Produce and more.
Vocal Art Ensemble: Cloudburst – Sounds of Nature
Sunday, 7:30 p.m., suggested donation $6-20
United Methodist Church of Davis, 1620 Anderson Road
The Vocal Art Ensemble is based in Davis and made up of 21 talented singers, who mostly perform a capella pieces. Sunday’s concert, however, will also feature the Unitarian Universalist Church of Davis’ Juliebells handbell choir, instrumentals by choir members and poetry readings.
Rene Hell, Wet Hair, Swimsuit
Wednesday, 7 p.m., donations accepted
802 Villanova
Rene Hell’s latest release, Porcelain Opera, is described by the artist as “a surreal electronic explosion of abstract sonics and cracked experimentation,” while Wet Hair describes its music as acousmatic/tape. Swimsuit is a new-wave band out of Michigan. Should be a good night at the Villanova House.
THEATER / MONDAVI
Comedy Binge
Tonight, 8:30 p.m., $5
The Davis Graduate, 805 Russell Blvd.
Comedians from all over Northern California will gather at the Grad for a night of stand-up comedy. Performers include Diego Curiel, Des Henderson, Ray Molina, Chazz Hawkins, Nick Pettigrew, Carlos Rodriguez and Bryan Yang. Who knows, one of them could be the next Jerry Seinfeld.
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged)
Tonight – Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m., $8
UC Davis Arboretum Gazebo, Garrod Dr.
The Davis Shakespeare Ensemble must be preparing for the 2012 apocalypse, because their latest production combines all of Shakespeare’s 37 plays into one jam-packed night of theater. It even includes a high-speed Hamlet performed both forward and backward. Think of it as Shakespeare with a remote control.
Julius Caesar
Tonight – Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 7 p.m., $6
School of Education Courtyard (in front of Sproul Hall)
Michael Lutheran, who starred as Melchior in Studio 301’s brilliant production of Spring Awakening last quarter, now steps behind the curtain as director of the group’s spring play, Julius Caesar. Perhaps most intriguing about the production is the performance space. Is the courtyard outside Sproul conducive to great theater? We’ll find out.
The Moby-Dick Variations
Tonight – Saturday at 8 p.m., Sunday at 2 p.m.
Mondavi Center, Vanderhoef Studio Theater
You still have one more weekend to catch this reimagined version of Herman Melville’s classic novel, Moby-Dick. The production, which encompasses a variety of mediums, allows audience members to walk among the actors and create their own theatrical experience.
ART / GALLERY
Conversations with Writers: Pat Pattison
Today, 4 p.m., free
Voorhies 126
Want to be the next Paul Simon? Then a talk by Berklee College of Music’s Professor Pat Pattison is a must. Pattinson will discuss the art of writing lyrics, which he knows a little about, as the author of three songwriting books, two dozen articles and an online lyric writing course.
Author talk: Gregory Dobbins, Lazy Idle Schemers: Irish Modernism and the Cultural Politics of Idleness
Wednesday, noon, free
Memorial Union Bookstore
Associate professor of English Gregory Dobbins will speak about his new book at the Bookstore on Wednesday. Dobbins connects the idea of “idleness” to much of Irish modernist literature. A Q&A and book signing will follow the discussion.
ROBIN MIGDOL can be reached at arts@theaggie.org.
