Anyone who left Theta Chi’s Zion I and Mistah Fab outdoor show last Saturday without a few black and blue spots,smashed eyeglasses,mysterious bite marks,or at least an elbow to the stomach should count themselves lucky.

In town like Davis,chock full of young hip-hop fans from the Bay Area,you have to expect that people are going to get bit crazy – or you might say,hyphy,when two extremely popular hip-hop artists from Oakland come to visit.

The double lineup nicely catered to both fans of the socially conscious and poetic underground fare of Zion I as well as the lighter-themed,pounding,up-tempo beats of Mistah Fab that anyone who listens to the radio even occasionally has probably memorized perfectly.

This isn’t to say that the crowd was utterly out of control the entire time.The vigorous local and UC Davis student band Sex,Funk,and Danger got the audience moving and grooving benignly and not belligerently with their hybrid of hip-hop,funk and jazz.

Sacramento rapper and second act Nifty was surprisingly crowd-pleasing,particularly with the catchy “Rydah.” Although evidently not well known in Davis,he jumped on stage and almost immediately carried the audience.

When Zion I took the stage,however,it became obvious that the crowd had come to see them.Rapper Zion’s positive,unavoidable energy and incandescent stage presence made it difficult to turn your gaze away.

The best live performers are those who catch your attention even if when have never heard their music before,in recorded form.Zion I is one of these artists.

Whether a first time listener or Zion I patron,it’s doubtful to imagine that anybody,even a bystander on the street,could have possibly been bored seeing them live on Saturday.Personally,I was transfixed.Even an attendee who knew very little about the meaning behind the lyrics he spat would inevitably be carried by Zion’s powerful delivery amid crafty,infectious beats.

However,as soon as Mistah Fab and his perhaps19-person entourage walked on the stage,the environment took a turn for dangerous.Listeners were in constant jeopardy as they were forced to traverse through a jungle of flailing arms,legs and the unsuppressed enthusiasm of the people around them.

In other words,it was hyphy.So hyphy I had to remind myself I was still in Davis.Although I can’t say that I get that happy when I hear “Stupid Dumb and Hyphy” on the radio when I’m by myself,listening to it while in a gigantic crowd of kids who are actually acting stupid,dumb and hyphy is something else entirely.

A worthwhile hip-hop performance will probably leave its watchers with a few scrapes,just like any good hardcore show will probably have a few moshers who take things a little far.Mistah Fab is a pretty big guy with a larger-than-life presence,so his pulsating energy didn’t help to calm the crowd down one bit.

In a society where we are normally a little too sensitive of personal space,it’s nice sometimes to see people finally come alive and interact in the name of a common passion – in this case,Bay Area hip-hop music and culture.Even if things get a little out of hand.

Without taking himself or anything he does too seriously,Mistah Fab did a good job of reminding Bay kids why they love where they are from– when you call us “stupid,” we take it as compliment.

Stop-Loss

Directed by Kimberly Peirce

Paramount Picture

Rating: 3

Stop-Loss isn’t a political movie, per se. It’s not meant to sway the audience in any particular way about the political ideologies. It’s not necessarily an anti-war movie, nor does it preach “Support Your Troops” messages into every scene.

At heart, Stop-Loss is a drama that focuses on the effects of war – not the war itself. Rather than concentrating on the merits of war, director Kimberly Peirce focuses on the storytelling of human drama, an area that seems to suit her better, based on her directorial debut in 1999 with Boys Don’t Cry.

Stop-Loss is about a group of soldiers returning from duty in Iraq. Undoubtedly, it’s been a tough gig: On their last tour, Sergeant Brandon King (Ryan Phillippe) and his men are ambushed, leaving one man in their group killed and another permanently disfigured.

Friends, family and a cheering town greet the soldiers at home in Texas, but life doesn’t get any easier for them once they return. Duty and combat has permanently changed them; one soldier is in rehabilitation after losing an arm, a leg and his eyesight after the ambush, and he is unable to visit his family in Mexico. The effects are more than physical for other soldiers: Brandon suffers from nightmares about the ambush that he feels responsible for. After their homecoming party, Sergeant Steve Shriver (Channing Tatum) suddenly snaps, and Brandon finds Steve at home in a drunken fit, digging a trench hole in his front yard in his underwear.

Despite these difficulties, the soldiers are relieved to be back home. However, on the day he is set to be released, Brandon is called back for duty: He is faced with the stop-loss policy, an involuntary extension of his enlistment contract. Feeling that he’s already served his time to the war, Brandon goes AWOL as he tries to find a way to escape another tour in Iraq.

MTV Filmspresented Stop-Loss, and the relationship is obvious with the film’s marketing and previews that play along to songs such as “Bodies” by Drowning Pool. However, the cast provides more credibility than one would assume. Though the leads are best known for roles as eye-candy in movies such as Cruel Intentions (Phillippe) and Step Up (Tatum), both handle their characters well and with maturity. Another notable performance comes from Joseph Gordon-Levitt – as shell-shocked soldier Tommy Burgess, Gordon-Levitt has a depth and vulnerability found in his previous roles in Brick and The Lookout.

War in Iraq is a difficult subject to handle in films for actors, directors and writers, but Stop-Loss offers a sensitive and touching take on a delicate issue.

-Rachel Filipinas

The arrival of spring goes hand in hand with images apt to inspire the nearest lounging poet. How fitting, then, that National Poetry Month should fall on this time of year.

In Yolo County the celebration has already begun, but with readings on the way at both The Avid Reader and Bistro 33, the coming weeks promise to be eventful.

The Sacramento Poetry Center, located on 25th St., held its annual poetry conference Apr. 4and 5, featuring readings, workshops and lectures by local and visiting poets. Among its participants was Sacramento State English professor, Joshua McKinney, who read with fellow poets Camille Norton and Jane Hershfield on Friday evening. The following morning he held a workshop with approximately 10 participants.

“What I liked most was the camaraderie, the spirit of sharing a mutual endeavor that I experienced,” McKinney said. “There were some fine writers in attendance.”

Tim Kahl, vice president of the Sacramento Poetry Center, shared a similar viewpoint of the event and said it was one of the best conferences they’ve held in many years. But while this poetic congregation comes only once, local poets can swap critiques on each other’s pieces. The poetry center holds writing workshops every Tuesday evening from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at the Hart Senior Center on 27th Street in Sacramento.

But for those who missed the two-day event last weekend, there are still two more opportunities within the next few days to get a fix of rhymes and verse.

On Friday at 7:30 p.m., poet Edythe Haendel Schwartz will make her way to The Avid Reader, located at Second and E streets, to read selections from and sign copies of her latest collection Exposure.

Like McKinney, Schwartz is a faculty member of California State University, Sacramento. Interestingly enough,however, she taught in the department of child development as opposed to literature.

“There were other things that I wanted to do that I didn’t have time for … and I’ve been reading poetry my whole life,” Schwartz said. “At first, I felt like I didn’t know what I was doing … but I have done a lot of writing, and once you’re a writer you can write all kinds of things.”

Schwartz’s transition from factual writing to a more creative approach to the written word was smooth due to her academic background in language development. Her long experience with reading poetry also helped.

“I asked for a poetry anthology on my eighth birthday, and I still have it,” she said. “I love the sounds, the rhythms, a beautiful line.”

Just days after this event is an evening of poetry Apr. 16 at Bistro 33, located at Third and F streets. Poetry Night, hosted by English professor and poet Andy Jones, occurs on the first and third Wednesdays of every month at 9 p.m. On Wednesday, Bistro will feature UC Davis’ own University Writing Program lecturer, John Boe.

Boe, a professional storyteller as well as a poet, is scheduled to read and recite his own poems in addition to a mixture of ribald folk and true tales.

“I might tell a story with a puppet,” he said.

When unoccupied with telling tales or writing them, Boe teaches the freshman seminar “Poetry by Heart,” in which students are expected to memorize and recite at least 12 lines of poetry for eight class sessions.

“They must once do something from Shakespeare, and can do at most one contemporary song and at most one of their own poems, but other than that, the choice is theirs,” Boe said. “Often, there are unusual choices: for example, a poem in a foreign language or a poem put to music. The class is a lot of fun.”

With these events in mind, the young undergraduate poet can find plenty of amusement within the next few weeks. For a taste of each poet’s work, read on to page ___. They may just be the inspiration you need to scribble some garbled lines in your notebook and commemorate the month on your own.

JAYNE WILSON can be reached at arts@californiaaggie.com.

POET CORNER:

John Boe

John Boe has been an English department lecturer since 1981 and was the first to win the Excellence in Teaching Award for his courses in the University Writing Program. This summer, he will be going abroad to teach Shakespeare Live! in London for summer sessions.

“The Right Word”

Where I teach, students write at least 6000 words

For a writing course, In order to teach them how

To choose their words carefully, I require

Four 1500 word papers—each with

The same word repeated 1500 times..

These assignments are not as easy as they seem.

I do have standards. I gave the word ‘destiny,’

Repeated 1500 times, a B, and suggested

That ‘fate’ would have been a stronger choice.

I gave A’s to ‘afternoon,’ ‘loose,’ and ‘badinage.’

‘The’ and ‘and’ got D’s, as do most

Articles, prepositions, conjunctions, and pronouns.

I am teaching them that the heart of writing

Is in nouns, verbs, and adjectives (and the perfect adverbs).

‘Licorice,” ‘love,’ ‘red,’ ‘lonely,’—all lovely—

And so they learn to choose their words carefully.

For the final, they put their four words together—

With extra words if needed—to make a sentence,

Thus ‘red,’ ‘licorice,’ ‘love,’ and ‘afternoon,’

Yielded an obvious A of a final exam:

‘I gave my love red licorice this afternoon.”

Commentary:

University Writing Program courses, which I have been teaching since 1981, require students to write 6,000 words of graded work. I usually assign four 1,500-word papers, or five 1,200-word papers. One day I realized that this requirement said nothing about sentences, only that students write 6,000 words. And so I thought how cool it would be (and easy for both me and the students) if each paper consisted of the same word repeated over and over. Such papers would be more like works of conceptual art than college papers. I shared this idea with some of my fellow teachers, who seemed amused, and then I decided to write it up as a poem. I often take something funny I have said or made up and try to turn it into a poem

Joshua McKinney

Joshua McKinney is currently an associate professor for California State University, Sacramento’s English department. Since 1999, he has taught numerous poetry classes and has published two collections of poetry. He was awarded the President’s Award for Research and Creativity in January.

“Aspect”

From where they stood

the country appeared

exhausted, yet he knew this

to be an error in perception.

“That cloud looks like a gun,”

his little son said. It did.

Waiting, he feared

what else the child might see.

Amid the scree a few stunted

pines leaned in memory

of weight or wind. Then his son

pointing skyward cried, “Look!”

Comments:

We seem to be at a historical crossroad of sorts, and as a parent, I often wonder what my children’s world will be like. “Aspect” is a poem that deals with the uncertainty of that future. We don’t know what the son sees at the end of the poem. I leave this to the reader’s imagination. A pessimist might see one thing, an optimist another.

Edythe Haendel Schwartz

Edythe Haendel Schwartz recently retired from the Department of Child Development at California State University, Sacramento after having worked there for 25 years. She was written and published many reviews and is currently a regular writer for Calyx, a journal of art and literature by women.

“Lacunae”

Mistletoe haloes the dead

oak standing in the park,

empty as a child unfed.

The plant clings to bark

living only on what’s left,

oak standing in the park,

yet empty, only its cloak left,

lightning charred inside –

like a child living on what’s left

of chipped self may hide

in skin, hoping you will hold

her, not strike. She burns inside,

an oak standing, growing old

too soon of fending blows

on skin, hoping you will hold

her snug against you, fill hollows

the way Mistletoe haloes the dead

oak. No hope of ending blows,

she grows empty, a child unfed.

Comments:

On a hike, I was struck by the wreath-like forms of mistletoe on branches of dead oaks. Mistletoe, while a plant that in some cultures celebrates love and joy, has its sinister side; it can only survive by living off another. The oak is hollow – as is the neglected or abused child – charred inside, the child’s self chipped away. In the poem, I emphasize the word unfed, as the verb “feed” encodes physical care, emotional care, attention, belief in a child’s ability to thrive and willingness to provide the conditions. I think much of my work expresses concerns similar to those addressed in this poem.

The poem is written in a form called a terzanelle (a villanelle in terza rima), allowing words and phrases to resonate in the reader’s mind.

If you’ve always wanted to learn a percussion instrument or brush up on your current skills, now’s your chance. Tonight, Saturday and Monday, the UC Davis Percussion Festival will commence, complete with workshops and concerts from both students and masters, featuring Brazilian beats, merry marimbas and more.

The UC Davis department of music began doing music festivals four years ago, with each year celebrating a different particular instrument. Last year was the cello festival, and this year will mark the first percussion festival to be held on campus with percussion lecturer and performer Chris Froh at the helm as the festival’s director.

“To be given free range, and to basically do whatever I’d like to do, has been ideal,” said Froh.

Today’s performance in Mondavi’s Grand Lobby will feature both the percussion students and the samba school, a newer and relatively unheard of addition to the course catalog. The class is open to all levels of experience and performs every quarter, which made participating in the percussion festival a natural flow of events, Froh said.

Senior music and mathematics double major Derek Kwan is performing in one of the student ensembles and said the festival brings opportunities to educate people on the often overlooked medium of music.

“Percussion has only had a supporting role in music all the way up until the 20th century,” Kwan said. “It would be great for non-percussionists to be able to come to the festival and understand that the marimba can play the lead role just as well as a violin can.”

Saturday and Monday’s schedule will include several faculty and guest performances such as that of Daniel Kennedy, a percussionist and professor of percussion at California State University, Sacramento; Stefon Harris, a world renowned vibraphonist; and Mayumi Hama, a marimba player flying in from Japan.

Froh said he hopes this diverse cast of performers will turn on audiences to percussion for the first time.

“It’s such a great opportunity for me to take out all the [musicians] in the world who I want people [to hear],” said Froh. “They really represent some of my very favorite musicians.”

Senior music and managerial economics double major Megan Shieh said that she is probably most excited to take part in Saturday’s “Day of Percussion,” in which master classes and clinics will be held all day. Because of their popularity and limited space, people must RSVP ahead of time with Phil Daley, events and publicity manager of the music department, to ensure a spot at the event.

Master classes, Shieh explained, are when individual students perform music they’ve prepared and receive critical feedback from the master teacher in front of an audience. Participants can benefit and learn from this interaction about things like capturing specific subtle nuances and tone in playing particular pieces.

“The more you’re exposed to [percussion performance], the better you can play and incorporate what you’ve learned, and [the opportunity] to be able to talk to masters on a one-to-one level is very exciting,” Shieh said.

In clinics, on the other hand, instructors usually talk about their careers, perform a piece and do exercises with the attendees. Clinics are designed for people of all levels, from curious onlookers to post-undergraduate students, Froh said.

“I hope the festival inspires more students to join the percussion department, as right now there’s only [approximately] 10 students,” Shieh said.

“Or if the festival inspires someone to finally give the percussionists our own room to practice in, that would be good too.”

LAYOUT: SIDEBAR

Schedule of events

Today, Noon

RUMSEY RANCHERIA

GRAND LOBBY, MONDAVI CENTER

Noon Concert: UC Davis Percussion Ensemble, featuring works by Christopher Rouse,

Lucas Ligeti, Terry Longshore, Brett Reid and the UC Davis

Samba School: traditional Brazilian-style drumming.

[Free]

Today, 3 p.m.

RUMSEY RANCHERIA

GRAND LOBBY, MONDAVI CENTER

Master Class/Clinic: Vibraphonist Stefon Harris,

Blue Note recording artist. Observers welcome.

[Free]

Saturday, 11 a.m.

STUDIO THEATRE, MONDAVI CENTER

Day of Percussion: A day of workshops and clinics with guest percussionists.

Activities include drum set and Latin percussion clinics as well as a Marimba Master Class.

[To participate, please RSVP as soon as possible to Phil (pedaley@ucdavis.edu). $20 fee includes lunch. Please be sure to arrive early in order to register!]

Saturday, 8 p.m.

STUDIO THEATRE, MONDAVI CENTER

Showcase Concert, featuring director Chris Froh with guest artists

Michael Spiro, Mayumi Hama, Loren Mach, Daniel Kennedy and Michael McCurdy.

[Tickets: $18 adults, $9 students and children]

Monday, 8 p.m.

STUDIO THEATRE, MONDAVI CENTER

Construction Zone. Final festival concert, featuring director

Chris Froh, percussion, and Ellen Ruth Rose, viola; premiering new works by Linda Bouchard, Aaron Einbond and Laurie San Martin.

[Tickets: $18 adults, $9 students and children]

CHRISTINE VU can be reached at arts@californiaaggie.com.

“American Folk Art”

John Natsoulas Gallery

Editor’s note: MUSE offers a monthly feature to review specific exhibits from art galleries on campus and throughout the Davis/Sacramento area. This month’s “Gallery Review” is of the exhibit ‘American Folk Art’ by various artists. The exhibit will be on display until Apr. 19 at the John Natsoulas Gallery.

The gallery experience can be an overwhelming one. However enlightening the creations, a plaguing stiffness can be in the air. That sense of heightened formality, a need to whisper and the rule to keep a respectable distance from the work on display. This prim decorum is not the case with “American Folk Art.”

It’s a welcome unpretentiousness: Folk art is created by those with little or no formal training in art, and most of the works on display in the exhibit are marked by a naivety, a certain inexperience that lends itself to an unstudied aesthetic. Many of the paintings are have a childlike quality – bright colors, flat images, a simplified, almost archaic approach to light and perspective – pieces that would seem more at home on a refrigerator door held up by a kitchen magnet than on a gallery wall.

Though some may cast it off as crude or unsophisticated, there is an innovation in the way some folk artists make use of unconventional materials. Retired preacher R.A. Miller used tin cutouts as a proxy for canvas in his works “Preacher Girl” and “Preacher Man.” For his pieces “Bike Rider,” “Milkin’ Old Bessie” and “Bull,” Jimmy Lee Sudduth (a famed figure in folk art) used house paint, mud and honey on a wood surface.

Folk art, according to American studies professor Jay Mechling, emphasizes unity and identity within a community. He added that folk art is meant to be consumed and enjoyed by people in that community.

“One of the traditional kinds of values found in folk art is community,” Mechling said. “Whereas with fine art, what’s valued are individualism, difference and [having] a unique vision and unique style. [Folk art] is not an individualistic art form. Folk artists are trying to connect to the community, trying to express their membership through that community.”

This call for community is most evident in the prominent religious motifs in a majority of the works. A wide assortment of emotions and messages can be found with these religious imagery: These range from the nostalgic and hopeful (such as Bernice Sims’ “Jesus with the Children”) to the blatantly preachy (former grocer Tubby Brown advocates a lifestyle of abstinence with “The Devil’s Christmas Tree,” which shows a tree adorned with untraditional ornaments of a less innocent nature, such as bottles of booze, sticks of TNT and drugs). Others take a considerably darker approach, such as “Apocalypse” by William Thomas Thompson, which depicts his take on the end of the world based on a vision he once had while on vacation in Hawaii.

Despite its grassroots foundations, folk art has created a niche in the art market.

“The people who love the objects often will say that they love the simplicity of folk art, they love the naivety,” Mechling said.

The John Natsoulas Gallery is located at 521 First St., and “American Folk Art” will be on display until Apr. 19. Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Wednesdays and Thursdays, 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Fridays and noon to 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays. For more information about the exhibit, go to natsoulas.com.

–Rachel Filipinas

As most fans of quality television programs know, “The Office” returns to its weekly spot on NBC tonight to resume its fourth season.

For Office fanatics like myself, this requires some preparation.

Surprisingly, I don’t follow this show religiously just for the priceless puppy face Jim (John Krasinski) makes into the camera after Michael Scott (Steve Carrell) says something outlandish and illogical. The main appeal of this cleverly written sitcom is its ordinary-meets-wtf style of humor, and personally speaking, its quaint similarity to my work life in The Aggie newsroom.

There are many ways in which the staff here at this fine student-run publication brings the spirit of “The Office” to our everyday life. White tape clearly shows the boundaries of the “water cooler talk” region, where all the juicy gossip goes down. We have our Jim Halperts, our Angelas (which is played by me on stressful days),but unfortunately, there’s no one over 50 to play the role of Creed.

We have yet to hold any office Olympics, and the Dundees are in store for June 2008, but we do hold an ongoing office competition of foosball. They really need to get a foosball table at the Dunder-Mifflin office to add a new competitive and silly pastime to their repertoire. We have two here at The Aggie, and I can assure you they create a very productive work environment, among other things.

So as I’ve explained, we here at The Aggie have been patiently waiting it out. Since the writers’ strike, this has been enough for me and my fellow Office-ites, but we all miss weekly unveilings of new episodes. A writer myself, obviously, I understand and am not resentful about the long halt between season four episodes. But I do have some expectations, predictions and hopes that the show’s writers will fulfill as they close out the season:

Jim and Pam’s engagement. I know I am stating the obvious here, but it needs to happen. The two can receive a Dundee this year for the shortest engagement, as I predict they will tie the knot before the season is over. Another wedding to top the debauchery that went down at Phyllis’ would be more than enjoyable, especially if Roy makes a surprise appearance.

The first 12 episodes, aside from Jim-Pam unification and the growing weirdness of Angela and Andy, were slightly uneventful. But according to Jenna Fischer (Pam) in an interview with USA Today, the writers surprised even her with what’s in store for her and Jim, calling it “a big curveball.”

Ryan’s assbeating. Someone needs to beat the shit out of Ryan, the evolved “corporate villain.” Let’s face it, he’s a little bitch and deserves some punishment for all the talking-down and power tripping he’s been doing. It just goes to show that a little bit of formal education can make you bratty and ostracized from your friends. Quit school while you’re ahead, kiddos, and don’t become a corporate villain – Ryan’s most recent behavior doesn’t even add enjoyment to the show.

More genius from Creed. Everyone knows this old timer is the best written character of the show, and his twists and turns create the most thrilling absurdity. If he’s not paying his dues for using the women’s bathroom, taking a chomp out of a potato or selling unused equipment around the office, he’s doing something else brilliant. Mad props to whoever develops his persona, and hopefully it will climax in season four.

Something positive happens to Toby. Aside from Creed, Toby is my favorite character – a member of “The Finer Things Club” and in real life a contributor as both a writer and actor on “The Office.”

Lastly, I’d like to thank the writers for coming back in time to write what I expect to be another dazzling string of episodes.

NICOLE L. BROWNER wields the bitchiness of Angela with the sneakiness of Creed and will destroy anyone that resembles Kelly in any way. Send Office plot predictions to nlbrowner@ucdavis.edu.

LIVE MUSIC

Internal Conflict, Plead the Fifth, Knuckle Puck, Wipeout

Friday, 7 p.m.

Turtle House

I always enjoy a good movie reference, especially from a childhood classic like D2: Mighty Ducks. What’s more enjoyable about Vacaville’s Knuckle Puck is that they belong to the dying breed of two-step, thrashy hardcore like the Bay Area greats Ceremony and Sabertooth Zombie or the classics, Infest and Minor Threat. Keep shredding, brothers.

Whole Earth Benefit Dance Party

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

Delta of Venus

Help WEF build up some funds for the festival you all know and love by coming out for a night of electronica and more. Here’s the breakdown of genres by DJ: Tao will cover the dubstep, drum ‘n bass; Kelly D will spin the electro, breaks and tech-house; N’Demik has a change of pace with psychedelic and progressive and Ian Lesperance brings the funk.

Half-handed Cloud, LAKE, G2

Friday, 7 p.m.

Scrambled Eggs House

Berkeley’s interesting soloist John Ringhofer will be entertaining Scrambled Eggers with both song and side notes tomorrow evening. The Asthmatic Kitty Records artist sounds pretty odd, he works part time and is a doodling addict. Hopefully he will share some of these stories at the show.

Aftershocker, Shayna and the Bulldog

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

The G St. Pub

It’s locals’ night for this G Street Concert, matching two very different acts. Aftershocker’s (you guessed it) hair rock meets Shayna’s charismatic pop rock, which has taken a surfy side on their Basement Love Explosion EP, due out next week and can be picked up at their Burgers ‘n Brew release party Apr. 18. Preview the EP Friday night!

Apple Pie Hopes, Katie Delwiche, Pete Bernhard, Connecticut

Saturday, 7 p.m., $5

Delta of Venus

Apple Pie Hopes… you’ll eat it? That’s my best guess about this happy-go-lucky Americana band from Oakland. If the idea of a pirate anthem scares you, then the opening acts are the ones you’d like to see, such as the pleasant townies Katie D and Pete Bernhard (fans of Willy Mason or M. Ward will dig him!). They’re likely to slow down the evening with bluesy-folksy-perfection.

An Angle, Them Hills, Audrye Sessions, Death to Anders

Saturday, 9 p.m., $7, 21

Old Ironsides in Sacramento

Not much of an explanation is needed for this show, since its constituents are regulars in the Sac Scene. But for those who love indie cheese-pop and haven’t seen them at one of hundreds of shows, now is the time. Openers Death to Anders from L.A. sounds like Nick Cave meets Sonic Youth meets a sliver of Pavement.

Natya: Indian Dance Festival

Sunday, 3 p.m., $7 for students in advance and $12 at the door

Freeborn Hall

Witness UC Davis’ own professionals dance the traditional Indian styles Bharatanatyam, Kathak and Odissi. Beautifully dressed in vibrant fabrics and captivated under dramatic light, this performance will blow any Indian music video you’ve caught on television out of the water. Not to mention, the music is amazing, too!

Enon, Thao Nguyen

Monday, 9 p.m., $10, 21

The Blue Lamp in Sacramento

Distorted bass and good drum beats backing synth with female vocals – how juicy is that! A taste of New York’s Grade-A music scene comes to Sacramento for a dancetastic set that would appeal to fans of anything from Blonde Redhead to Hot Chip could get down to.

Led to Sea

Tuesday, 8 p.m.

Delta of Venus

Led to Sea is the solo project of violinist L. Alex Guy, also known to Davis Delta-goers as Alex Sprout Guy, or as Jason Webley’s backup band. Anyway, Alex has been around, but not to woo crowds on her own with freakish arrangements of viola and voice.

GALLERY

Visiting Artist Lecture Series: Dana Schutz

Today, 4:30 p.m.

University Club

Join artists and art lovers alike for one of the last visiting artist lectures on campus, with the acclaimed painter Dana Schutz. Schutz is an MFA Graduate of Columbia University and is known for bringing a darker, more horrid style to the canvas. More information can be found at art.ucdavis.edu.

Second Friday Art Walk

Friday, starting at 7 p.m.

Downtown Davis Art Galleries

It’s the one time of the month not to dread – the art walk! Stroll, window shop and marvel over what the downtown Davis galleries have to offer this month, including a ceramic reception at Pence Gallery for Charlene Doiron Reinhart and Carol Wedemeyer. For more information, visit artery.coop.

READING / SPOKEN WORD

For information on poetry readings in Davis, see page ___.

MONDAVI / THEATRE

Main Stage Dance/Theatre Festival

Tonight through Saturday at 8 p.m., $10 for students and $14 for non-students

Main Theatre, Wright Hall

Three dances, three student choreographers, a multitude of sensory enjoyment. Look to the main paper next week for more on this festival, which will carry through the following weekend and perform during Picnic Day events.

UC Davis Empyrean Ensemble

Sunday, 8 p.m., $9 for students and $18 for non-students

Mondavi Center for the Performing Arts

Campus composing and performing all-stars the Empyrean Ensemble will be taking on The 51% Majority, a survey of modern pieces all by women around the world. The Memory Place by Ann Callaway will have its first public performance ever, and the evening will be preempted by a 7 p.m. “Demystifying the Music” lecture.

AT THE MOVIES

X: The Unheard Music

Friday at 5 p.m. only at 600 Fourth St. in Sacramento

Sounds mysterious, wouldn’t you say? Let’s preserve the mystery, but I’ll give you one hint: ’80s L.A. punk.

Street Kings

Opens Friday at Regal Davis Holiday 6 on F Street

All cop movies should involve Keanu Reeves to ensure there is a good amount of suspense and action. But adding Hugh Laurie (the asshole from “House”) yelling, “You gonna cry to your daddy?” makes this film priceless.

Leatherheads

Now playing at Davis Regal Stadium 5 on G Street

Jim Halpert! 0mfg what a babe! You can see him on the big screen twice in one week. For more on Jim Halpert (John Krasinksi), see M2.

Smart People

Opens Friday at Davis Regal Stadium 5 on G Street

Davis is full of them, but do we have any professors that look like Dennis Quaid? I think not. Carrie Bradshaw fans, this flick’s for you.

Editor’s picks

Enon, Thao Nguyen

Monday at the Blue Lam