april 3
"It's Only Rock and Roll: Rock and Roll Currents in Contemporary Art": David Rubin, Phoenix Art Museum's curator of 20th-century art, organized this exhibit, billed as an exploration of "rock as a social force in [contemporary] art" and including pieces by Annie Leibovitz, Andy Warhol, Robert Mapplethorpe, Jean-Michel Basquiat, Nam June Paik, Robert Rauschenberg, William Wegman, Laurie Anderson and others. The installation continues through Sunday, June 15, in the Steele Gallery at PAM, 1625 North Central; viewing hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays (to 9 p.m. Thursdays and Fridays). A related film festival continues at 7 p.m. Friday, April 4 (see the Repertory Film listing). Conceptual artist Christian Marclay inaugurates the "Raised on Rock and Roll" series in the Whiteman Lecture Hall with a program titled "The Sounds of Silence" at 2 p.m. Sunday, April 6. Exhibit admission: $5, $4 for seniors, $2 for students and children age 6 and up, free for younger kids and members; entry is free to all from 5 to 9 p.m. Thursdays. For details call 257-1880 or 257-1222.
The Illusion: Tony Kushner penned the near-great, Pulitzer Prize-winning Angels in America, and the playwright loosely adapted this update of L'Illusion Comique by 17th-century French scribe Pierre Corneille. The work centers on a father's search for his estranged son and, on a metaphorical level, the meaning of love--a quest that leads to the mountain lair of the sorcerer Alcandre; see the review on page 65. Arizona Theatre Company continues its 30th-anniversary season with performances at 2 and 8 p.m. Thursday, April 3; 8 p.m. Friday, April 4; 2 and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 5; 1 and 7 p.m. Sunday, April 6; and 8 p.m. Wednesday, April 9, in Center Stage at Herberger Theater Center, 222 East Monroe. Wednesday's show is interpreted in American Sign Language. The production continues through Sunday, April 13. Tickets range from $19 to $32, available at Herberger and Dillard's; call 252-8497 or 503-5555.
The Tradition at Desert Mountain: The ninth annual Senior PGA Tour stop, featuring a field that includes defending champ Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Tom Weiskopf, Ray Floyd and Hale Irwin, is scheduled Thursday, April 3; Friday, April 4; Saturday, April 5; and Sunday, April 6, on the Nicklaus-designed Cochise Course at Desert Mountain, Pima and Cave Creek roads in Scottsdale. Badges start at $100; they're available at Dillard's. For details call 595-4070 or 503-5555.
"David Levinthal: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls": "Toys are not benign. They are forms of socialization," says Levinthal, a photographer who studied at MIT and Yale and Stanford universities and whose jaded, informed eye lends an ominous tone to his Polaroids of the trinkets of youth. "Dolls" opens with a reception from 7 to 9 p.m. Thursday, April 3, and continues through Saturday, April 26, in the "through the arch" room at Lisa Sette Gallery, 4142 North Marshall Way in Scottsdale. Viewing is free; hours are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays (and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursdays), noon to 5 p.m. Saturdays. For details call 990-7342.
friday
april 4
The Presidents of the United States of America, and Redd Kross: Seattle's Presidents are idiot-savant pop stars who specialize in bursting the bubble of '90s-pop pretension; California's Kross is a whip-smart debunker and defender of '70s-pop excess. Custard shares the stage. The all-ages show starts at 9 p.m. Friday, April 4, at Electric Ballroom, 1216 East Apache in Tempe. Tickets are $15, available at Ticketmaster. For details call 894-0707 or 784-4444.
Kenzaburo Oe: The Nobel Prize-winning Japanese author (Hiroshima Notes; Teach Us to Outgrow Our Madness) speaks about "The Literary Imagination at the Close of the 20th Century" at 4 p.m. Friday, April 4, at Neeb Hall, located at the intersection of Forest and Tyler malls on the Arizona State University campus in Tempe. Admission is free. Call 965-7184.
Five Guys Named Moe: Reggie Kelly, a member of Moe's post-Broadway touring company, directed and choreographed Black Theatre Troupe's production of Clarke Peters' tribute to the late, great Louis Jordan, jumpin' jive cat and bandleader deluxe. Opening performances are at 8 p.m. Friday, April 4; 8 p.m. Saturday, April 5; and 3 p.m. Sunday, April 6, at Helen K. Mason Center for the Performing Arts, 333 East Portland. The run continues through Sunday, April 20. Tickets range from $10 to $16. For details call 258-8128.
Ellen Bromberg and Several Dancers Core: The troupe performs Aria for an Endangered Species, a dance/theater piece featuring a score by Yoko Ono and based on the Ono installation "Endangered Species 2319-2322," which was itself derived from Yoko's visit to Pompeii. Showtime is 8 p.m. Friday, April 4, in Second Stage West, located in the University Center Building on the Arizona State University West campus, 4701 West Thunderbird in Glendale. Tickets are $10, $8 for seniors, $5 for students. For details call 543-2787.
Having Our Say: Micki Grant and Lizan Mitchell portray Sadie and Bessie Delany, respectively, in this touring adaptation of the book Having Our Say: The Delany Sisters' First 100 Years--a view of the American century from the prairie schooner to the space shuttle as seen through the eyes of the long-lived African-American siblings. Performances are at 8 p.m. Friday, April 4; and the same time Saturday, April 5, at Gammage Auditorium, Mill and Apache in Tempe. Tickets range from $26 to $38, available at Gammage and Dillard's; call 965-3434 or 503-5555.
O Soul O Mio: A Ludwig Dance Theatre wraps up its 20th season with this show, a work "designed for 16 performers and one meatball" and incorporating "an Italian restaurant, video, karaoke and a Shakespeare monologue." Shows are scheduled at 8 p.m. Friday, April 4; and the same time Saturday, April 5, at Tempe Performing Arts Center, 132 East Sixth Street. Tickets are $12, $10 for seniors, $8 for students. For details call 966-3391.
The Illusion: See Thursday.
"It's Only Rock and Roll": See Thursday.
"David Levinthal: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls": See Thursday.
The Tradition at Desert Mountain: See Thursday.
saturday
april 5
Man . . . or Astroman?: The Alabama surf band masquerading as a group of grounded space aliens masquerading as an Alabama surf band plays "Philip K. Dick in the Pet Section of Wal-Mart," "Sadie Hawkins Atom Bomb" and the rest of its smashing nonhits 'neath the sky from which it purportedly fell on Saturday, April 5. Chicago's Pulsars share the outdoor bill at Boston's, 910 North McClintock in Tempe. The all-ages show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10, available at Dillard's. For more information, call 921-7343 or 503-5555.
Kula Shaker: The latest British export sounds like a cross between Oasis and the Beatles under the spell of Ravi Shankar, though the band's not in the same league as either of the above acts. Named after an ancient emperor of India and led by vocalist/guitarist Crispian Mills (the son of actress Hayley Mills), Kula strives mightily for modhood with its odd mix of mantras and groove-rock ("Tattva"), but it more often lands in the realm of the ridiculous ("Grateful When You're Dead/Jerry Was There"); see the story on page 99. Headswim shares the stage. The all-ages show starts at 9 p.m. Saturday, April 5, at Electric Ballroom, 1216 East Apache in Tempe. Tickets are $8 in advance, $10 the day of the show, available at Ticketmaster. Call 894-0707 or 784-4444.
Trisha Yearwood: The native Georgian has a peach of a voice, though she, like most of Nashville, strains beneath the MOR-country yoke. Still, she's a sight better than most of the power-ballad-croonin' pretenders overrunning Music City these days. Big House opens the all-ages show at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, April 5, at Celebrity Theatre, 440 North 32nd Street. Tickets are $25 and $35, available at the scene and Dillard's; call 267-1600 or 503-5555.
Five Guys Named Moe: See Friday.
Having Our Say: See Friday.
The Illusion: See Thursday.
"It's Only Rock and Roll": See Thursday.
"David Levinthal: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls": See Thursday.
O Soul O Mio: See Friday.
The Tradition at Desert Mountain: See Thursday.
sunday
april 6
Thomas Bopp: The Valley-based co-discoverer of Comet Hale-Bopp discusses the heavenly body at 6:30 p.m. Sunday, April 6, in Room 101 of the Sands Classroom Building on the Arizona State University West campus, 4701 West Thunderbird in Glendale; Bopp will also be present at an outdoor viewing session, which follows from 7:30 to 9:30. Admission is free. Call 543-6068.
N. Scott Momaday: The Native American author won the Pulitzer Prize for House Made of Dawn and narrated the PBS series The West. He presents the keynote address at Arizona Center for the Book's second annual Parnassus Awards Tea, which starts at 3 p.m. Sunday, April 6, in the Arizona Ballroom at the Camelback Inn resort, 5402 East Lincoln Drive in Paradise Valley. Tickets range from $35 to $75; proceeds benefit ACB. Reservations are required; call 265-2651.
Widespread Panic: One of the founders and cornerstones of the new Southern rock, the earthy sextet from Athens, Georgia, is both thoughtful and soulful (the song "Hope in a Hopeless World," from Panic's new disc, Bombs & Butterflies, is dedicated to Roebuck "Pops" Staples). The all-ages show starts at 7 p.m. Sunday, April 6, at Hayden Square Amphitheatre, Fourth Street and Mill in Tempe. Tickets are $17, available at Dillard's; call 503-5555.
Taste of the Nation: More than 30 Valley chefs donate their time and talents at this annual fund raiser, scheduled for 3:30 to 7:30 p.m. Sunday, April 6, at the Orange Tree Golf and Conference Resort, 56th Street and Shea. Also on the agenda: silent and live auctions and entertainment. Tickets are $45 and $60; all proceeds are divvied up between Waste Not, Westside and United food banks, Share Our Strength, and Save the Children. Call 242-3663.
Five Guys Named Moe: See Friday.
The Illusion: See Thursday.
"It's Only Rock and Roll": See Thursday.
The Tradition at Desert Mountain: See Thursday.
monday
april 7
De La Soul, Jeru the Damaja, and DJ Shadow: Here's a well-stocked smorgasbord for hip-hop and trip-hop fans, who should pay particular attention to the moves and grooves of San Francisco-based jungle raver Shadow (real name: Josh Davis). The all-ages show starts at 8 p.m. Monday, April 7, at Electric Ballroom, 1216 East Apache in Tempe. Tickets are available at Ticketmaster. For details call 894-0707 or 784-4444.
tuesday
april 8
Barenaked Ladies: The all-guy Toronto quartet returns to play more of its upbeat ditties about downbeat stuff on Tuesday, April 8, at Hayden Square Amphitheatre, Fourth Street and Mill in Tempe. The Odds open. The all-ages show starts at 7 p.m. Tickets are $17.50 in advance, $20 the day of the show, available at Dillard's; call 503-5555.
The Supersuckers, and Jesse Dayton: Eddie Spaghetti and his Seattle-based 'suckers are joined by Texas country-rocker Dayton for a twang-core set on Tuesday, April 8, at Gibson's, 410 South Mill in Tempe; the show starts at approximately 10 p.m., immediately following the Barenaked Ladies concert at adjacent Hayden Square Amphitheatre (see above). Tickets are $7, available at Ticketmaster. For details call 967-1234 or 784-4444.
"It's Only Rock and Roll": See Thursday.
"David Levinthal: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls": See Thursday.
wednesday
april 9
Cranes: The despair-wracked strains of this Portsmouth, England, band have much in common with the arty drone of New York's Swans; if you consider that a compliment, you'll probably dig Cranes. But there's a bright light at the end of this band-named-after-a-bird's dark tunnel: front woman Alison Shaw, who wields a strong presence and a brittle, tragically beautiful voice. Comet shares the bill. The all-ages show starts at 7 p.m. Wednesday, April 9, at Gibson's, 410 South Mill in Tempe. Tickets are $9 in advance, $10 the day of the show, available at Ticketmaster. Call 967-1234 or 784-4444.
The Illusion: See Thursday.
"It's Only Rock and Roll": See Thursday.
"David Levinthal: Beyond the Valley of the Dolls": See Thursday.
