Arts & Culture

MUSIC

Los Lonely Boys

Today, 7:30 p.m., $25

Sacramento State University Union Ballroom

Texas-based band Los Lonely Boys has created a pleasant, non-confrontational wave in the adult contemporary charts with hits like 2004's "Heaven," and the band is in its eighth year of making "Texican Rock 'n' Roll" (they're words, not mine). So what if they're about as authentic as Chevy's or Chipotle, they're still pretty catchy.

In "Each Person is a Universe," Emily Lacy describes herself as "relentless like the ocean … regardless like the word." This cathartic moment is one of many on the home-recorded Newsworthy New York Tapes.

Maybe it's the Thanksgiving season that's making me all nostalgic for pre-college/childhood relics. Could it be the return of holiday foodstuffs at grocery stores or the change of the weather and its autumnal wardrobe changes?

With a string of three shows - starting tonight and ending Saturday - the KDVS 90.3 FM organized Feats of Strength music festival returns to the Davis and Sacramento area. The show locations are as diverse as the bands: tonight's show with headliner AIDS Wolf is on-campus in the Silo Union, Friday's concert is inside Sacramento restaurant Luigi's Fungarden, while Saturday's bands will perform in the living room of the DAM house in Davis.

Today's politically charged world can often encourage us to overlook international cultures. This week's Mexican Film Festival at UC Davis hopes to remind us of the significance of Mexican culture by examining it through the eyes of its people.

Grammy award-winning singer-songwriters Willie Nelson and K.D. Lang have recently been added to the Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts' 2008-2009 season and are scheduled to perform early next year.

By the end of November, tens of thousands of writers around the world will be able to call themselves novelists. They are participants in the National Novel Writing Month, a nonprofit writing contest with the challenge to write a 50,000-word novel in 30 days.

Though it functions as a bridge between various disciplines of art and entertainment, the panoramic art form may not be a well-known creative channel. Visual artist Sara Velas is working to change that.

They've been hailed as "San Francisco's new indie rock darlings," but Berkeley-based band the Morning Benders is working to prove that they are worthy of the hype.

The Morning Benders take the stage tonight at 8 at the ASUCD Coffee House. Opening the show are San Francisco-based bands Social Studies and Love Is Chemicals. The event is free.

MUSIC

Jeremy Jay, Jake Mann, J. Irvin Dally

Today, 8 p.m., $6

Luigi's Fun Garden in Sacramento

The more mature (read: older) readers of Artsweek should be no stranger to the music of Jake Mann: The UC Davis alumnus started out in local music staple The Zim-Zims and has worked with familiar Davis figures such as Payam Bavafa of Sholi, Garrett Pierce and Andy Lentz of Mad Cow String Band.

According to some statistic presented by some magazine, the average height for a woman aged 18 to 24 is 5-foot-4. That being said, being a mere two inches below this average shouldn't make that much of a difference, one would think.

The newest art pieces by retired Chicana/o studies and art professor Malaquias Montoya are now on display at the Pence Gallery in downtown Davis. The exhibit - which features 23 paintings and prints - is titled "Globalization & War: The Aftermath" and will be open for viewing until Dec. 21.

The Davis community got a peek inside the world of local radio through the Davis People's Free School course, pirate radio. Taught by Davis resident and radio enthusiast Mark Chang, the class will meet again to set up an antenna and broadcast a radio show throughout Davis. Contact Chang about the upcoming broadcast or future pirate radio classes at toptriode@gmail.com.

Got something to say? Poetry may be a perfect outlet. The UC Davis Poetry Slam Team is holding auditions today at 7 p.m. in Griffin Lounge, located on the first floor of the Memorial Union.

Seasoned UC Davis students and alumni may remember Rock It!, a Thursday night rock addition to the Davis nightlife. They may also remember its conclusion when Rock It! creator Jordan Smart ended the event after a year-and-a-half long run.