Arts & Culture

It's hard to believe that this British punk band - who was once a teenage garage experiment -- turned to the guise of a darker follow-up to their previous album, Favourite Worst Nightmare. Undeniably, Arctic Monkeys seeped into a heavier style that is much of anextension from frontman Alex Turner's side project, The Last Shadow Puppets.

An art auction will take place at the Pence Art Gallery in downtown Davis at 212 D St., beginning on Tuesday Aug. 25 from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. A month-long exhibition of artwork by selected artists will continue until the night of Sept. 19, where a gala event will be held from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. with silent and live bidding, live music and food from local venues.

The world of indie music is currently shifting toward electronically enhanced methods of music production. However, Portland-based duo Yacht has not made any significant changes - causing the band's music to fall into the snowballing genre of electro pop. Yacht, consisting of Jona Bechtolt and Claire L. Evans (a fairly recent addition), released their second album See Mystery Lights on July 29.

MUSIC

Monsters of Accordion

Today, 8 p.m., $10

Luigi's Fun Garden in Sacramento

Their title is appropriately fitting - Monsters of Accordion is an eclectic group of accordion-playing musicians with a knack for low, almost spoken singing. Think Cake, with a soundtrack-like feeling and without the trumpet. As terrible as an accordion-based band might sound, their ironic waltzes and creative lyrics simply work. Check them out on Myspace if you don't believe me ("Dance While the Sky Crashes" is definitely worth a full-length listen).

Friday, 11:52 a.m.: as the sun begins its daily dose of punishment, I find myself on the Wyatt Deck, engulfed in shade. Surrounding me is a diverse crowd of mostly middle-aged strangers; some busy tuning their guitars or mandolins, others reenacting the Bob Dylan New Jersey incident. Thankfully, they think enough of me to assume that I know who Bob Dylan is. I am at the Arboretum Folk Music Jam Session.

Though it was an effortful attempt aimed to claim back their spot in this new era of musical territory, it was not enough for the band to carry on their legendary legacy as alt-rock gods who stole the charts with songs like "Semi-Charmed Life," "How's it Going to Be" and "Jumper."

The Time Traveler's Wife is a peculiar movie for its kind. The key phrase "time traveler" is right there in the title, yet this film is an outlier in the science fiction genre.

In past years, Pennsylvanian rapper Amanda Blank has collaborated with artists such as M.I.A., Spank Rock, Santigold (previously known as Santogold), Ghostface Killah and Aaron LaCrate. However, her latest hip-hop album I Love You, released on Aug. 4, has proven that she has lost most, if not all, of the talent that allowed her to rub musical shoulders with the previously mentioned musicians.

MUSIC

Mayyors; Ebonics; Gestapo Khazi

Tuesday, 8:30 p.m., $5

The Hub at 1819 23rd St., Sacramento

Gestapo Khazi, a surfer-esque four-piece with a talented rhythm section, will join Mayyors and Ebonics on Tuesday for an eclectic night at the Hub in Sacramento. Check them out on Myspace for a preview.

The Intelligence is a surf noise, art scuzz, garage four-piece from Seattle. If that made sense to you, please stop reading and reexamine your life. On their fourth full length release, The Intelligence, like many of their label mates, move away from their noisy origins and accept their pop eventuality. The visceral urgency and hot noise skull fuckery that dominated previous efforts such as Icky Baby has now been swapped for cool, ironic detachment, if not total resignation.

This year the Summer Folk Music Workshop will be held at the Davis Art Center the weekend of Aug. 21 to 23 beginning at 3 p.m. The three-day event, organized by Christine Grunn and Angela Kost, is expanding its venue by relocating to a different facility and adding new instruments to the instructional lineup.

This will be the first year that the workshop is having bass and saw classes, which will be taught by bassist Djordje Stijepovic and saw player Ursula Knudsen - both members of the Fishtank Ensemble.

Diehard Decemberists fans will be more than pleased to hear the familiar voice of lead singer Colin Meloy and even more pleased to hear the old-indie-metalish-folk sound that we all know and have come to expect from this Portland band.

With traffic and car lights beaming brightly, a serene shade of blue sky and weather slowly cooling down, last Thursday night's indie folk show at the John Natsoulas Gallery presented a great opportunity to enjoy the sounds of downtown Davis while soaking up the summer atmosphere.

Local artist Ally Hasche performed at the John Natsoulas Gallery (located on the corner of First and E Street) with a set featuring various covers and some new music from her upcoming EP. Later, Scott Bartenhagen followed with a mellow folk set featuring new music from his own upcoming album, 10 Songs, 10 Men.

Experimental rock is probably the biggest umbrella a band can hide under to avoid criticism. Blunt genre labeling is hurtful, so embracing the avant-garde approach to songwriting is an easy method for success in the underground world.

Animal Collective's brand of experimentation takes a broad approach to music creation. On the first listen one might think there's way too much going on, and on the second and third spins the listener might not change his mind. Animal Collective piles on layers and layers of electronic sounds to what sounds like an electronic/rock equivalent of a beginning band's warm-up routine.