Much like a romantic comedy – you know, that old standby you rely on to give you the warm fuzzies when you’re feeling down – Jason Mraz did what he does best as he took the stage in Freeborn Hall on Nov. 3: deliver feel-good pop tunes.

As could be expected, Mraz gave a predictably strong performance. Though tickets were still offered the day of the concert to any last-minute stragglers or passers-by, student pre-sale tickets to the show sold out quickly. The demographic of Mraz’s concert was largely comprised of devoted fans who were more than familiar with his songs, acting as back-up singers as they sang along to numbers like “You and I Both” and “I’m Yours.“

Djembe drum player Toca Rivera, who has toured with Mraz for four years, and a horn set also accompanied Mraz’s performance.

However, Mraz made a turn from charming to cheesy during “The Remedy (I Won’t Worry)” as he segued the song to “Wonderwall” by Oasis, and also during his rendition of Bob Marley’s “One Love.“

What did set Mraz apart was his personality as he shared stories of a sympathetically awkward adolescence, which included an account of a failed “tongue touching” incident in the sixth grade. Mraz encouraged audience participation by leading sing-alongs and teaching dance moves. He added an extra touch to the standard band introductions by taking Polaroids of each member and throwing the snapshots to the audience.

Despite being best known as the female vocalist accompanying Damien Rice in songs like “The Blower’s Daughter,” Irish singer Lisa Hannigan proved her power as a solo artist as the opening act for Mraz. Though her lyrics were hard to discern – whether or not her Dublin accent could be blamed is debatable – Hannigan’s neo-folk sound, which sounded like a cross between a folksier Feist and a less-angsty Alanis Morisette, was a pleasant compliment to Mraz’s pop tunes.

Hannigan joined Mraz toward the end of his nearly two-hour set with the song “Lucky,” a duet originally recorded with singer Colbie Caillat on Mraz’s newest release We Sing. We Dance. We Steal Things.

The day before Nov. 4‘s Election Day, Mraz also took the opportunity to get political, endorsing president-elect Barack Obama and urging concert goers to vote no on Proposition 8.

“The morale of this country is going to warm this atmosphere,” he said.

– Rachel Filipinas

The brilliance of the Internet (besides self-promotion and e-endorsing presidential candidates – I like to think all those Obama pins I sent out on Facebook did some good for his campaign) lies in its ability to make even the most boring day seem exciting, or at least marginally interesting enough to care about. Why else would people create blogs that chronicle their lives or to follow things like random street fashion?

Case in point: Mydadisafob.com, an online outlet where people can share all the giggle-worthy anecdotes concerning their Asian dads. The site launched on Oct. 24 after the success of its predecessor, “My Mom is a Fob.“ The posted items aren’t out of the ordinary occurrences or contrived like scenes from “America’s Funniest Home Videos” – they’re just your sincere, run-of-the-mill happenings. Anyone with a story to share can send it to mydadisafob@gmail.com.

Being that my own father is a fob – fresh off the boat, to be extra clear – born and raised on the island of Cebu in the Philippines, this website hit especially close to home. One would think that 30-plus years as an American citizen would help him with the poor grammar, at the very least. If anything, his English has worsened (or maybe mine has gotten more betterer!)

With my minimal online presence (I had a short-lived blog on Xanga.com and an even shorter lifespan on Livejournal), I read through pages of text messages and e-mails from Asian parents as if I had posted them myself. They reminded me of my own Asian father, otherwise known as the man who taught me invaluable life lessons using indirect – if not completely bizarre – disciplinary approaches, stilted logic and unfounded statements that he would try to pass off as fact.

For example, when I was little, I liked to stick my hand out the window during car rides so I could feel the wind rush through my fingers. Once my father caught wind (har har) of this activity, he immediately put a stop to it by telling me that Michael Jackson got his arm cut off by a car window doing the same thing. Being young, stupid and easily impressionable, I believed him.

Considerably more understandable than my father’s scare tactics were his answers to my never-ending slew of questions. I was fascinated with the concept of hiccups. After asking my dad multiple times the reasoning behind hiccups, he finally let me in on a secret gem of knowledge: Hiccups mean that you’re growing, he said. Consequently, I was convinced that I would grow to be six feet tall after every hiccup episode I had.

Even more unnecessary: When I saw my first rainbow in the sky at the age of five, I pointed to it and shouted to my dad, who promptly told me that if I pointed to a rainbow, my finger would burn off.

After reading through stories of varying degrees of ridiculousness, I wondered who was more to blame – my dad’s strange sense of humor or an innate fob mentality?

Of course, as the creators of mydadisafob.com assert, “fob” is used in the best sense possible, a tongue-in-cheek term of endearment. The point of it is not to make fun of our dads or moms, they say on the website, but to share those moments with “a community of second-generation Asian American kids who know exactly what it’s like to be on the receiving end of that amazing, unconditional and sometimes misspelled love.“

I must add: Ironically enough, it was my non-Asian, non-first generation American citizen roommate (I’ll call her Shmolivia), who first alerted me of the website, proving either the far-reaching scope of the Internet or maybe that fobiness isn’t so exclusive after all.

If you think you’re more interesting than RACHEL FILIPINAS, she’d be more than happy to hear it. Hey, maybe she’ll even make a column out of it. Promote yourself at rmfilipinas@ucdavis.edu. 

There’ll Be Diamonds by Portland-based band Super XX Man is the kind of album that should accompany a long-distance road trip. The effortless transitions between tracks make it an easy listen from beginning to end.

The vocals‘ conversational tone echoes that of Simon and Garfunkel, which helps to make the music accessible. However, what makes the music stand out is the instrumental contrast between the slow, easy strumming of the acoustic guitar and the heavy echoes of the bass, which demands attention from the background like a petulant child.

The plucky, plunky guitar style of the album’s first half changes by the second as the band begins to experiment with folk twangs, sparse lullabies and piano-driven melodies.

The standout song is the title track, “There’ll Be Diamonds,” a great sway-inducing song that still retains the organic and compact feel of the rest of the album. Another track worth listening to is “It’s Now,” which picks up on the nuances of the album’s hills and valleys.

The album’s weaving of vocals and instruments, shifting volumes and skillful overlaps are still pretty after multiple listens. The music has a great way of breaking down the world to its simplest of forms.

Super XX Man played in Davis along with Brooklyn-based band Donny Hue and the Colors last Saturday.

Laura Kroeger

Give these tracks a listen: “There’ll Be Diamonds,” “It’s Now“

For fans of: Neutral Milk Hotel, Simon and Garfunkel

Atlanta rock band Deerhunter is defined by two simple characteristics – teenage angst and sexual exploration. The latter I got from a sticker on the album that described their sound as “a distrubing plea for erotic asphyxiation.” Um … is that supposed to make me want to buy the album?

Deerhunter’s breakout release, Cryptograms, was something of an anthem for all the freaks and losers struggling through their post-puberty years. Concerts seemed like viewing therapy sessions, as lead singer Bradford Cox cathartically screamed his shrill tenor into the microphone, barely hiding the years of torment from his personal anguish as a teenager with Marfan syndrome (the Abe Lincoln disease). As for the autoerotic stuff – yes, Cox does look like he’s giving the mic a blow job when he sings.

The first words in Microcastle come on the second track from guitarist Lockett Pundt and sets the tone for the album: “Come for me, you cover me/ Come for me, comfort me.” His longing for comfort in light of his insecurity and isolation does not arrive at a definite conclusion, as the track ends with a drone of melancholy guitars, and a gentle, upbeat rhythm.

Overall, Microcastle is a winner. The tracks seamlessly range from ethereal to catchy, and the instrumental tracks are more focused and purposeful than in Cryptograms. It’s a complex album that addresses simple themes. Microcastle gives no answers to sexually confused post-teens, but it does offer a soundtrack for the lives of any of us who can or could relate.

Give these tracks a listen: Agoraphobia, Nothing Ever Happened

Sounds like: Liars, Grizzly Bear

– Chris Rue

As the third largest film industry in the world, Chinese cinema is getting some much-deserved attention in the city of Davis.

The 2008 Asia Pacific Film Festival opens today and runs until Sunday. The event is free. A short presentation will accompany each screening, and a public symposium titled “Understanding Chinese Cinema: Gender, Modernity, Identity” will be held on Friday at 1:30 p.m. at Olson 6.

The festival is sponsored by Union Bank of California, who has funded the project since its inception in 1992.

“It involves education and cross-cultural understanding,” said Darla Young, vice president and branch manager of Union Bank in Davis. “It’s a good event for the whole community, and it’s a small price to pay for what we get out of it.“

The purpose of the Asia Pacific Film Festival was to raise multicultural awareness on the part of the UC Davis campus and the local community, said Sheldon Lu, professor of comparative literature and film studies.

Lu selected the films that will be screened for the festival. Kicking off the festival is Lost in Beijing, a movie directed by Li Yu that touches on the darker side of Chinese society, portraying prostitution, blackmail and rape in modern-day Beijing.

“There is a fairly wide range of films that are coming out of China right now,” said theatre and dance professor Lynette Hunter, who will be presenting in the symposium. “Some of it is very driven.“

The film industry in China has had its ups and downs since China joined the World Trade Organization, Lu said. According to The China Business Review, competition for theatrical release in the country is intense, and independent films and low-budget films have little chance of theatrical release – let alone the United States.

However, Lu said that the domestic and international markets for Chinese films are growing, and after this summer’s Olympic Games in Beijing, Lu said that he wanted people to know more about the country.

“[China has] a very vibrant film industry with all kinds of films – art films, commercial films, international blockbusters,” he said. “It’s a very diverse, fledgling film industry. More people are interested in what’s going on [in China], and what’s happening out there is being artistically packaged by filmmakers. There’s a good momentum right now to produce more interesting, challenging films.“

Hunter compared China’s growing film industry to India’s.

“Many people are thinking it’s coming to be the next Bollywood,” she said.

In addition to showcasing films from contemporary China, Lu chose one classic film for the festival – 1934‘s silent black-and-white film Queen of Sports, which he said that he chose in light of the 2008 Beijing games to show modernization through sportsmanship. Gender, modernity and identity are the major issues under discussion during Friday’s symposium.

“Sometimes you see a conflict between tradition and modernity,” Lu said. “China’s a very old country, so how do people compromise the need to modernize? Every Chinese citizen … is caught between different worlds.“

Though this year’s Asia Pacific Film Festival focuses on China, Lu said that anyone could relate to the themes in the movies.

“We live in a globalizing world, and everyone has to shift gears sometime,” he said. “When you want to be modern, you have to give up something from your old self. I think that anybody can relate to this.“

RACHEL FILIPINAS can be reached at arts@californiaaggie.com. 

MUSIC

Mylo Jenkins, Brethren, Brethren & the Brethren

Today, 9:30 p.m., $5

Primary Concepts at 219 E Street

Santa Cruz band Mylo Jenkins makes the kind of down-home rootsy indie-folk that reminds me of my childhood days sippin‘ lemonade out on my front-porch. OK, so I may be embellishing a bit – truth be told, the apartment I grew up in San Jose didn’t have a porch to host impromptu folk jam sessions – but the idea is nice, no?

Jared Mees and the Grown Children, Two Sheds, Birds and Batteries, Geographer

Friday, 7 p.m., $6

Delta of Venus

With a specialization in cute and quirky indie-pop, Portland-based record label Tender Loving Empire has quickly turned me into a fan. Exhibit A: Jared Mees and the Grown Children – an energetic pop five-piece who count acts like The Weakerthans and Modest Mouse as influences. For another example of what TLE has to offer, check out the review on page __.

The Faint

Friday, 7:30 p.m., $20

Sacramento State University Union Ballroom

Proving that they can hold their own sans Conor Oberst, Saddle Creek ex-pats The Faint produce the kind of stylishly digital dance-punk that could make any stiff robot do a little jig (or any other sort of dance that robots are programmed to do).

Run On Sentence, Karli Fairbanks, A Good Pillow

Saturday, 8 p.m., $5

Primary Concepts at 219 E Street

Holding it down for the Portland music scene is Run On Sentence. Though iTunes labels the band’s sound as “unclassifiable,” they incorporate touches of jazz horns, twinkly bells and Alpine yodeling so naturally, I propose the term “enigmatic folk.“

Dreamdate, Splinters

Friday, 9 p.m., $5

Luigi’s Fun Garden in Sacramento

Oakland trio Dreamdate bridge the lo-fi garage world and the indie-pop territory, delivering the kind of music that’s cute but not cutesy and sweet but not sickly.

Copeland, Lovedrug, Lydia, Stacy Clark

Saturday, 8 p.m., $13 in advance, $15 day of show

The Boardwalk in Orangevale

Florida band Copeland makes finely-tuned, catchy pop-rock with just the right amount of emo sensitivity and shaggy-haired, scarf-wearing, skinny-jeaned stylishness.

Bike Church Fundraiser Dance Party

Saturday, 10 p.m.

Delta of Venus

Though I really don’t think the world is ready for my sweet dance moves, I can make an exception if it’s for a worthy cause – and what better excuse to break out with the goods than the Bike Church, a campus institution?

AT THE MOVIES

Casino Royale

Today, 8 p.m.

Young 198

What makes a free screening even better? More free stuff! Entertainment Council will be giving out free passes to the upcoming Quantum of Solace advance screening, hats and T-shirts. Oh, I hear there’ll even be free soda. Hooray!

Asia Pacific Film Festival

Today through Sunday

In terms of the movie industry, China is close behind India’s Bollywood and America’s Hollywood. For a list of films and screening locations, check out page __.

ART / COMEDY

Globalization & War: The Aftermath

On display now at the Pence Art Gallery at 212 D Street

UC Davis professor emeritus Malaquias Montoya portrays the consequences of man-made conflict and destruction through his oil paintings.

Birdstrike Theatre Improv Show

Friday, 7 p.m.

Wellman 126

I may attempt to make you readers giggle with my oh-so witty commentary through Artsweek and other published outlets, but the kids behind Birdstrike are the ones who make the real funnies with their improv.

THEATRE / MONDAVI

THIRDeYE Theatre Festival

Today through Saturday, 8 p.m. and Sunday, 2 p.m., $14 general admission, $10 with a student ID

Wyatt Pavilion Theatre

Student talent takes center stage (literally!) with THIRDeYE, which features three student-written plays. For more information, check out page __!

Jose Franch-Ballester

Saturday, 8 p.m. and Sunday, 2 p.m., $30 general admission, $15 with a student ID

Studio Theatre

A wizard at the clarinet, Spanish-born musician Jose Franch-Ballester has a number of acclaimed venues under his belt, including Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center.

RACHEL FILIPINAS can be reached at arts@californiaaggie.com

Editor’s Picks:

Mylo Jenkins, Brethren, Brethren & the Brethren

Today, 9:30 p.m., $5

Primary Concepts at 219 E Street

Jared Mees and the Grown Children, Two Sheds, Birds and Batteries, Geographer

Friday, 7 p.m., $6

Delta of Venus

While some students saw last summer as a break from work, Jason Dunne saw an opportunity. The junior art studio major embarked on a project – to create 30 chairs in 30 consecutive days.

Dunne challenged himself with certain guidelines for the project, such as only using recycled or found material and not using any parts that were previously on a chair. The final display, which will be presented at the Basement Gallery (located in the basement of the art building) from Nov. 10 to 15, is a collection of 30 unique chairs.

“I wasn’t interested in repeating myself,” Dunne said. “I was trying to be innovative every day.”

Dunne drew inspiration for the project from designer Martino Gamper, who used discarded chairs to make 100 functional chairs in 100 days. Most of Dunne’s chairs are nonfunctional.

“All but maybe two or three of these are functional chairs,” Dunne said. “They function as artwork.”

While Dunne wasn’t short of ideas for his chairs, the gathering of materials – from finding free online listings to foraging through dumpsters – proved to be a challenge.

As much as the guidelines directed the project, Dunne also sees the 30 chairs as “a comment on mass production of products.”

“[I’m] just churning out these products day-in and day-out and mocking the factory process because every chair is so different,” Dunne said.

The exhibit will be Dunne’s collegiate debut. While he is excited about presenting his work, the choice to display the 30 chairs was nearly out of his hands.

“I guess it was almost out of my control,” he said. “People were so encouraging of me to show it because they didn’t want me to go through this process and not have any result of it for the public to see.”

The graduate advisors who taught Introduction to Sculpture and oversaw Dunne’s project over the summer were encouraged by his efforts and commitment.

“It is exciting to meet students like [Dunne] who are motivated and self-driven,” MFA graduate Mary Alison Lucas said in an e-mail interview. “Not only did he work hard at meeting his daily deadlines under [the] intense summer heat, he was also an absorbent sponge.”

“It is always exciting to work with students who want to push themselves beyond the requirements of their major,” said Julia Elsas, second year MFA candidate in the studio art department.

The Basement Gallery will host a reception with music and refreshments for “30 Chairs 30 Days” on Nov. 13 at 8 p.m. Laura Nevins, one of the directors of the student-run art gallery, said that they are excited to host another show.

“This show will only be our third show this year, but our first two have been fantastic,” she said. “I’m hoping a lot of people will come and see [Dunne]’s show. It is going to be some terrific work, and a lot of fun!”

Dunne plans to give away his chairs upon individual requests after the exhibit.

CHRIS RUE can be reached at arts@californiaaggie.com