For those who need more spontaneity in their nightlife, the promoters of Inkblotch are throwing up a staggering slate of DJs and hip-hop talent for an all-night, all-ages bash to open a new club in Phoenix -- but they're not saying where. Inkblotch's Mike Stanton says the secret location was inspired by old habits. "We're all old ravers, but we still like the feeling of surprise," says Stanton. Starstruck by Inkblotch Productions begins at 6 p.m. Saturday, July 19, with a hip-hop lineup including Rahmun Charles and Boogie. At around 9 p.m., the DJs take the stage, with headliners DJ Assault (Ghetto Tech) of Detroit, John Henry (Surreal Ent.) of Tucson and Gregg Sandoval (formerly DJ Intensity) of Phoenix (Hyperspeed.)
Tickets are $3 for the hip-hop show, $10 for the entire evening. For location information, call 602-255-TECH the afternoon of the event. -Quetta Carpenter
Mel Époque
Laughs roll during the Brooks series
ONGOING
The ever-modest Mel Brooks said, "I have always been a huge admirer of my own work." He's in good company this month, as the Paper Heart Gallery and Studio, 222 North Fifth Avenue, showcases Brooks' best in its new Lunchtime Cinema series. A different movie rolls at 11 a.m. each Thursday and repeats at 1 p.m. the following Saturday. High Anxiety, showing Thursday, July 17, and Saturday, July 19, precedes Blazing Saddles on July 24 and 26, and Robin Hood: Men in Tights, July 31 and August 2. A Monty Python marathon follows in August.
Admission is free; film fans can bring sack lunches and purchase java and baked goods from the Paper Cup Espresso Bar. See www.thepaperheart.com or call 602-262-2020. - Jill Koch
Paint Rush
Artist draws from Mexican imagery in a new exhibit
7/17-8/6
Tucson artist Sam Esmoer makes rich paintings that throb with life and color, although his depictions are often of the afterlife. Esmoer takes inspiration from Mexican Día de los Muertos imagery and Hispanic iconography, as well as tattoo artistry. His first solo exhibition in Arizona, "Psycho Aztec Vegas," is showing through August 6 at Tempe's reZurrection Gallery, 601 West University. The collection showcases his vibrant paintings with their round skeletal characters, devil girls, bright flowers, custom lowriders, flaming hearts and eight balls. One painting depicts a strumming mariachi sitting cross-legged, his face covered by a melancholic Day of the Dead skull mask; a burning heart with a cross floats above his head while a chica in a ruffled maroon skirt looks on, a bemused smile on her face.
Esmoer moved to Arizona when he enrolled at ASU in the early '80s; it was then that he discovered his affection for the rich hues and symbolism of Mexican artwork. His work combines that aesthetic with a postmodern Pop Art appeal -- the paintings are sometimes macabre, but always gleeful. Call 480-377-9080 or visit www.rezurrectiongallery.net for more information. - Brendan Joel Kelley
