Arts & Culture

Duy Ha doesn't feel the need to "catch 'em all." Rather, the first-year psychology major is satisfied with his 200 caught Pokémon, and invitation to the National Pokémon Video Game Championships in this summer. On May 15, Ha came out on top in the West Coast regional competition - living out childhood dreams as one of the best Pokémon trainers in the U.S.

In their last concert of the '09-'10 season, the UC Davis Symphony Orchestra (UCDSO) will present their annual Family Concert on June 3 at 7 p.m. at the Mondavi Center. Tickets are available to students for $5. The concert will feature two pieces showcasing the winners of the two different competitions held at UC Davis.

MUSIC: Super Mash Bros.; The Finches, Key Losers, Katie Delwiche, Coal Beautiere; Jackstraw, TV Mike and the Scarecrowes; The Common Men, The Kimberly Trip; Music on the Green featuring Thao Nguyen, Boxes, AshEL, Lounge Lizards, David Ronconi and Seamoose; Operation: Restore Maximum Freedom IX.

Integrity in sponsorship is a big deal. When the news of Tiger Woods' lustful debauchery reached the public, sponsors like Tag Heuer and Gillette rightly dropped him from their billboards. And in the end, nobody really cared.

The Expendables will perform at Freeborn Hall on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., marking the Entertainment Council (EC)'s final concert of spring quarter.

Look out, Quentin Tarantino - UC Davis is bringing you some new competition. Student filmmakers will be showcasing their latest creations at the 10th annual UC Davis Film Festival, from May 26 to 27 at the Davis Varsity Theater.

If you're a UC Davis student, you've likely heard of the UC Davis sports budget cuts. Many, however, may not have heard of the budget cuts to the University Gospel Choir, which helped to cut participation from around 150 students per quarter to around 20.

Citing The Strokes, Funkadelic, Television, David Bowie, Os Mutantes and Jimmy Cliff as inspiration, Life on Mars describes their genre as "space rock" - marked by catchy hooks, psychedelic guitar, slap-funk bass and raucous drumming.

It's like finding a blank canvas amid a pile of Kitsch paintings or taking an Elliott Smith melancholy tune and embellishing it with drum machines and synthesizers. It's Retrospect: a new and refreshing band that doesn't exactly fit into a specific mold or genre.

Xyphl provides unique, shoegazey electronic music, standing out as more of a sonic art project than simply another rock band.

This Sunday, be ready with a picnic blanket, some friends and a healthy appetite for music when the Operation: Restore Maximum Freedom music concert, sponsored by KDVS 90.3 FM, descends on Plainfield Station in rural Woodland.

When asked what they visualize upon hearing the words "art studio major," many people will reply with brushes, easels and intimate classrooms. In many ways this image is accurate. But what goes on in the art studio classroom? Is it really just a bunch of kids working hard at their specific craft, freed from the constraints of mid-term cramming and writer's block?

MUSIC

Sigur Rós front man has redefined what pop music can be with his debut solo album, Go.

If it's really better to burn out than fade away, what can be said about fading from view long enough to release an album strong enough to put your peers to shame?