Arts & Culture

This Week in Davis: Thao Nguyen,BoomSnake,Agent Ribbons Woman Year,Many Many Books,Alak United Nations Association Film Festival

Incredibad Universal Republic Records Rating:4

“InandOut of Africa“ On display untilSunday Pence Gallery,212D St.

Artist Dave Lane is a character.Lane,a friendly and inviting person,becomes extremely loquacious when talking about his art.The more he gets going,the more he incorporates movement,gestures and emphatic sound effects into his anecdotes and explanations.

This year’s Academy Awards,time honored tradition that it is,was a ridiculously long and tedious ceremony.However,if you were able to pay attention through the monotony (or,an even wiser choice,looked up the winners the next morning),certain political and subjective choices became clear.

Bloc Party,Menomena Apr.21,8p.m. Freeborn Hall Presale tickets on sale today,$19.75cash only with a studentID Freeborn Box Office General admission tickets on sale Saturday,$29.75 Freeborn Box Office or tickets.com

United Nations Association Film Festival: “Blue Planet,Green Planet” Sunday,6:30to10:30p.m.,$10general admission,$7with a studentID The Varsity Theater on616Second St.

The Vagina Monologues Friday and Saturday,7p.m. Davis Veterans Memorial Center at203E.14th St. Tickets to the event are sold out

If you’ve seen any of John Cameron Mitchell’s work as a writer,actor or director,you’d know that he’s not afraid to be controversial.

MUSIC Tamarama,Owitrain,Early States,Accelerate Today,8p.m.,$10in advance The Boardwalk in Orangevale Now usually I’m very waryofany self-proclaimed “artist“ who appears on a reality show.But I’ll admit that Tamarama’s Jay Lyon (known firstly as Whitney’s dreamy Aussie boyfriend on MTV pseudo-reality show “The City” and secondly as the lead singer for band Tamarama) doesn’t suck completely in the music department – that is,if I were to ever admit to being a fan of acts like Jack Johnson or John Mayer,or to even watching “The City“ in the first place.

Rating:4 As the third full-length album from Scottish rockers Franz Ferdinand,Tonight comes over three years after their last LP. Listeners expecting a return to the likes of singles“Take Me Out“ and“This Fire“ from theirdebutself-titled album will be pleasantly surprised.

Rating: 4 There’s a weighty back-story behind Swan Lake.Put simply,the band is a supergroup made up of three Canadian indie rock lead-singers – Carey Mercer of Frog Eyes,Spencer Krug of Wolf Parade and Sunset Rubdown,and Dan Bejar of Destroyer.