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Davis

Davis, California

Friday, April 4, 2025

Arts & Culture

ARTSWEEK

Editor's picks:

Franklin For Short, Le Petit Protest, Autumn Sky

Today, 10 p.m., $3-5, 21

Sophia's Thai Kitchen

 

In the Flow Festival

Saturday and Sunday, noon, $15 per day

True Love Coffeehouse in Sacramento

‘Bottle Shock’ seek expertise at UC Davis

In the dramatic twist of Randall Miller's upcoming film Bottle Shock, an intern and the heir to Calistoga's Chateau Montelena winery make a shocking discovery about a batch of Montelena Chardonnay.

The pair, played by Rachael Taylor (Transformers) and Chris Pine (Just My Luck, Smokin' Aces), head east for some expert advice - at UC Davis.

Sacramento coffeehouse hosts In The Flow

This weekend, the True Love Coffeehouse in Sacramento will host the first In The Flow music festival, a weekend of modern and improvisational jazz, rock, blues and more.
Performances will be held on two outdoor stages throughout the event. More than 15 groups are scheduled to perform, including local and regional musicians of varied styles of music and improvisation.

CD Review: LP3

As long as you don't expect Daft Punk, you shouldn't be too disappointed. The third album from electro duo Ratatat isn't as rousing and danceable as one would hope and is generally reminiscent of car commercial background music. That being said, LP3 and its exotic, fluttery beats are hard to dislike.

African American artists showcased at the Pence Gallery

Upstairs in the Pence Gallery, tranquility kisses the walls but as you move downstairs, the mood drifts like leaves. One floor down, loud colors and a beautiful woman dressed in haute couture fill the lower showroom.

How to ‘fake it like you know it’

Despite what some believe, karaoke is fit for more than the bar townies or "American Idol" wannabes. According to Raina Lee, UC Davis alumna and author of the newly released Hit Me With Your Best Shot: The Ultimate Guide to Karaoke Domination, karaoke is fun for everyone.

ARTSWEEK

Editor's picks:

All My Pretty Ones, The Beat Nun, Ellie Fortune

Sunday, 8 p.m., $3-5

Primary Concepts at 219 E St.

 

Del Castillo

Monday, 7:30 p.m., free

The Quad

CD Review: Here We Stand

If Green Day were cool, they'd be The Fratellis. There's only so far you can go with power chord anthems without sounding like you're kicking a dead horse.

There's also a certain fullness required to elevate a band's sound to a higher level, no matter how small a band's numbers or simple their instrumentation. Social Distortion was never able to get this right, and the White Stripes got off the train a while ago.

Sacramento Art Complex: a community within a community

Before longtime art gallery owner Barry Smith opened the new Sacramento Art Complex between K and 21st streets in Sacramento, he looked up the noun "complex" in a dictionary.

"It's an interrelated but separate [group] of intellectually creative entities," said Smith, who has been an art dealer for 25 years. "I loved it, so I thought, 'Hey, what if I had a gaggle of artists around me as this synergetic entity?'"

Fourth Annual Afrofunk Festival returns to the Independent

When Kenyan-born Victor Sila first came to America 15 years ago, he wanted to be a Michael Jackson or Babyface-style R&B singer. However, he was rejected by every label he approached.

"It felt inauthentic, especially with my heavy accent," Sila said. "I was trying to be westernized, trying to do what I thought was the cool thing to do, but I was miserable and everyone else who heard me could feel it."

CD Review: Modern Guilt

The eighth studio release from the 38-year-old legend is as much a Beck album as any of its predecessors, meaning that you can't really expect anything in particular. In this case, producer DJ Brian "Danger Mouse" Burton's funky, electronic beats contrast with Beck's grave lyrics and themes, creating a dichotomy that is simultaneously danceable and somberly beautiful.

Movie Review: The Dark Knight

Christopher Nolan gave new life to the Caped Crusader franchise with his 2005 adaptation Batman Begins. His second film about the comic book icon smashes all expectations of the much-hyped The Dark Knight. Serving endless climatic scenes and twisting the imagination with his unsettling use of darkness in the film, Nolan reminds the audience about the stuff heroes are made of.

ARTSWEEK

Editor's picks:

The Dark Knight

Opens Friday at Regal Davis Holiday 6 on F Street

 

The Zim-Zims, Joe Finkel, Mistlefinger

Saturday, 8:30 p.m., $3

Delta of Venus

French Film Festival hits Crest Theatre

If the French language is the universal language of love, then movie lovers will fall in love all over again at this year's Sacramento French Film Festival.

Created to introduce the Sacramento public to French films, the seventh annual film festival will open Friday with its opening night reception and open wine bar at the Crest Theatre in Sacramento.

The Zim-Zims perform Saturday in Davis

It's understandable, but it's stifling - Davis tends to house students throughout their college careers, but never for much longer. It's terrible for bands, in particular, which dissolve not long after their inceptions.