Phoenix, it's been a busy week. Between the Supreme Court knocking down DOMA and dismissing Prop. 8, Dan Mintz dishing on Bob's Burgers, and Dexter fans getting all hot and bothered over the final season's premiere this weekend, it might be tempting to throw in the towel (y'know the one you keep on hand to mop up sweat when it's 118 outside) and chill out on the couch. Thing is we've already planned your weekend for you.
Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars Screening @ FilmBar "When the kids had killed the man I had to break up the band," David Bowie laments.
The line, from "Ziggy Stardust," captures the dichotomy between the man behind the music and the "man" who was a direct result of it. Bowie's Ziggy, an alien messiah, comes to earth to warn of its impending doom and instead falls victim to an insatiable rock 'n' roll lifestyle -- one that proved too self-destructive for the real-life Bowie.
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And so, in a self-fulfilling prophecy, break up the band he did, on July 3, 1973, at the Hammersmith Odeon in London. The full concert is captured in the documentary, Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars: The Motion Picture, which comes to FilmBar for a one-night-only showing, presented by The Unfathomable Film Freakout.
The 21-and-over screening starts at 8 p.m. Friday, June 28, at 815 North Second Street. Tickets are $8. Call 602-595-9187 or visit www.thefilmbarphx.com. -- Janessa Hilliard
"American Dream" @ Mesa Contemporary Arts If there's one thing pundits love discussing, it's how the American Dream is dead. They'll dig up statistics, ask talking heads, and bemoan investment bubbles, Ben Bernanke, and inflation to prove their point: Doomsday is nigh, middle class. For more colorful perspectives on the topic, consult the works included in the group exhibition "American Dream" at Mesa Contemporary Arts.
More than 20 Eye Lounge artists including Sarah Hurwitz, Daniel Funkhouser, Abbey Messmer, and Sean Deckert explore what today's American Dream looks like by pulling apart its myths from realities and addressing what it means on an individual level.
The show is on view through Sunday, August 11, in the South Gallery at Mesa Contemporary Arts, 1 East Main Street. Admission is free. Hours Friday, June 28, are 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Visit www.mesaartscenter.com or call 480-644-6560. -- Becky Bartkowski
The Fever @ Trunk Space Whether you're reading this on tree-killing paper or a screen manufactured by low-wage foreign workers, you've probably tuned out the moral implications of the world's general acceptance of destructive and dehumanizing practices in pursuit of so-called progress. One man feels the heat of our choices in The Fever, on stage Saturday, June 29.
Wallace Shawn is most well known as Vizzini in the classic 1987 flick The Princess Bride (though we love him in Clueless, too), but he's quite the accomplished playwright. He pokes at our cushy American comfort with The Fever, in which the narrator awakens as a stranger in a strange land fraught with the consequences of our shores. The winding theatrical monologue is performed by Mike Lawler under the direction of Theater In My Basement's Chris Danowski.
The Fever slow-burns at The Trunk Space, 1506 Grand Avenue. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., and the show starts at 8. Admission is $8. For more info, visit www.thetrunkspace.com or call 602-256-6006. -- Jose Gonzalez
Flamenco Por La Vida @ Crescent Ballroom Indie music fans regularly flock to Crescent Ballroom to catch shows from skinny jean-wearing musicians, but once a week music fans can experience art of a different variety with performances from dance troupe Flamenco por la Vida. With the flash of a colorful skirt, Flamenco po la Vida's artistic director Angela Ramirez transports her audience to a place far from the Sonoran desert -- the south of Spain, to be exact. The combination of sweet Spanish lyrics and dramatic dance poses may not be what you'd expect to catch at the Crescent, but the intimate setting makes for a performance that's enrapturing, exotic, and unexpected pre-concert entertainment.
Let the Andalusian music carry you away in the lounge at Crescent Ballroom, 308 North Second Avenue, on Saturday, June 29. Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and the show begins at 6 p.m. Admission is free and the event is 21-and-over. For more information, call 602-706-2222 or visit www.crescentphx.com. -- Lauren Saria
Ringling Bros. Presents Built to Amaze @ US Airways Center The old cliché about running away to join the circus has some appeal. You don't have to deal with carnies, which makes it a more viable option than joining a traveling carnival. Life in the circus means befriending fire breathers, acrobats, and elephants. So, what's not to love? Okay, cleaning up elephant poop and dealing with crazy clowns every day would get old, but would-be performers can live out their circus fantasies at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey's Circus. The traveling circus returns with Built to Amaze, featuring such standard big top fare as elephants, tigers, and women being shot out of cannons. The show promises some new entertainment, too, including a husband and wife duo that can lift each other with jaw strength.
Check out the greatest show on earth on Sunday, June 30, at noon and 4 p.m. at US Airways Center, 201 East Jefferson Street. Performances continue through Monday, July 1. Tickets start at $15, call 602-379-7878 or visit www.ringling.com. -- Melissa Fossum
