Arts & Culture

Although I've been a student for 16 years now, I've been finding it increasingly difficult to actually buckle down and concentrate in my studies.

Procrastination isn't my number one problem (though it's definitely up there), and neither is dozing off during lecture or putting off studying for that midterm because I wanted to do some weekday gallivanting out on the town - nope, my trouble lies in the listening and paying attention part of going to class.

Passion, electricity, a little spunk, a righteous cause and a great deal of heart: Just what every on-campus organization needs for success - and one of the newest student groups to bring just that is Electronic Music for Change.The members of Electronic Music for Change have passion for electronic music and a commitment for positive change.

After a four-year hiatus from Sacramento, the Found Footage Festival - a showcase of strange videos discovered by sifting through garage sales and thrift stores - will return to the capital city on Friday.

The collected videos will be shown at 7 and 9:30 p.m. at Movies on a Big Screen, which is located at 600 4th St. in West Sacramento. Tickets are available at the door for

Do you want to save money? Own one-of-a-kind pieces of furniture and decorations that have character? Live in a sustainable, earth-friendly manner? Eco-friendly design and practices have become very prevalent in recent years, encouraging everyone to reuse, recycle and not waste resources.

The UC Davis department of theatre and dance present Rodgers and Hammerstein's classic musical Oklahoma! on Saturday at 8 p.m. in Jackson Hall.

The production is directed and choreographed by Granada Artist-in-Residence Mindy Cooper, who previously directed and choreographed Urinetown: The Musical in 2007.

The lithe talents of Robert Downey, Jr. and Jamie Foxx are the most tangible aspects of The Soloist, a film full of heart but haplessly misguided. A chance encounter with a violin-playing homeless man named Nathaniel Ayers (Foxx) provides Los Angeles Times writer Steve Lopez (Downey, Jr.) with some fresh material.

MUSIC

Living Legends

Today, 7:30 p.m., free

Sacramento State University Union Ballroom

NorCal has its share of hip-hop collectives, but holding it down for Los Angeles is eight-piece group Living Legends, whose minimal beats and heavy rhymes recall that of Hieroglyphics, sans the Bay Area grittiness.

The Inversions, James Rabbit, Color of Love, Antarctica Takes It!

Today, 8 p.m., free, 21

300 Room in West Sacramento

James Rabbit is all over the place. With his own "vaguely Muppet-like" mix of jazzy piano, utterly danceable pop and upbeat showiness, he answers the long-standing question of what it would be like if Queen, Phoenix, Michael Buble and Mika were to make a musical baby. Because I know you all were wondering, too.

Mims

Guilt

Capitol

Rating: 1

Strung Out

Prototypes and Painkillers

Fat Wreck Chords

Rating: 4

The other day I logged onto Facebook and read: "Susan Boyle: 3 of your friends are fans."

I squinted at the picture next to the notification: A middle-aged woman with bushy eyebrows, frizzy curly hair and a microphone in hand. Nothing to write home about, right?

Evidently not.

This isn't your run-of-the-mill pledge marathon. There's no suave host coaxing the home viewers to dial in and save endangered forest critters or afternoon nature shows and documentaries - only noncommercial, diverse, freeform radio.

Campus radio station KDVS 90.3 FM is currently in the middle of their annual fundraiser, which started on Monday and runs until Sunday. All proceeds go toward making up two-thirds of their expenditures for the entire year.

With the economy in a sad state of disrepair, few people are occupied with the quality of life of those beyond their immediate family. However, rock band Papa Roach has taken a different approach with their involvement in Loaves and Fishes. Loaves and Fishes is a Sacramento-based charity dedicated to "feeding the hungry [and] sheltering the homeless," according to their website.

Fans looking for an "Arrested Development" reprisal won't find it in "Sit Down, Shut Up," Mitch Hurwitz's latest venture in television that premiered on Sunday on Fox.

As with "Arrested," dysfunction is the key theme in "Sit Down, Shut Up," which focuses on the less-than-upstanding faculty of a Florida public high school. This cast includes a spiritual science teacher, a sexually aggressive librarian and an oblivious ass principal."

Student musicians, the spotlights are searching for you! It's time for the annual campus media sponsored Search Party talent show. Co-sponsored by KDVS 90.3 FM, The California Aggie and the ASUCD Entertainment Council, Search Party gives UC Davis' budding musicians the opportunity to perform to the campus community. Submissions will be due by 4 p.m. on Apr. 24 to the office of KDVS 90.3 FM, located at 14 Lower Freeborn Hall.

Finding a triple whammy consisting of food, drinks and live music in Davis has always proved to be a challenge. Luckily, Sophia's Thai Kitchen, located at 129 E St., has taken a stab at solving this problem.

The cozy downtown venue kicks off their spring and summer music season tonight with The West Nile Ramblers and Pokey LaFarge at 10 p.m.