June 2010 – Page 2

Henry Rollins spoken word tour screamed into SOhO Restaurant & Music Club Wednesday

June 12, 2010June 1, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

The many faces and opinions of punk rock icon-turned-spoken word artist Henry Rollins were on display Wednesday night at SOhO Restaurant & Music Club. Mr. Rollins tackled a vast spectrum of issues and topics, including but not limited to South Africa, President Obama, persecution in the South, a confrontation with the dictator of Myanmar, as well as his own travels and experiences. THOMAS KELSEY/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS — The many faces and opinions of punk rock icon-turned-spoken word artist Henry Rollins were on display Wednesday night at SOhO Restaurant & Music Club. Mr. Rollins tackled a vast spectrum of issues and topics, including but not limited to South Africa, President Obama, persecution in the South, a confrontation with the dictator of Myanmar, as well as his own travels and experiences.
THOMAS KELSEY/NEWS-PRESS PHOTOS

Henry Rollins inspires in many ways. There’s his work ethic, or rather his workaholicism, which sees him taking in hundreds of cities a year for his spoken word tour — Wednesday’s SOhO gig was one of them — then “bouncing” all over the world during his down time, and basically saying yes to any work offer. It’s his pure energy, which glows icy blue hot, a flame that hasn’t died down since his days as the frontman of the seminal punk rock band Black Flag. Seeing he couldn’t hold a tune or keep time, according to him, spoken word was his calling all along. At three hours, there’s no punk band that could keep up.

Without even a stop for a drink of water, Mr. Rollins held the SOhO audience in thrall the entirety of his storytelling. Part of that was from the power of his words, his charisma, and the feeling that terrible things might happen if, heaven forbid, one checked a text message or left for a toilet break. “This is going to be like the longest Jet Blue flight ever,” he said, referring to the cramped seating and his foreknowledge of our asses falling asleep.

Moby Dick’s Pineapple Cosmo

June 11, 2010June 3, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Looking back from Moby Dick restaurant toward the blue skies and green mountains of Santa Barbara, we had to once again remind ourselves that we live in the place so many tourists wish they did. And we also have a job that others wish they had. But you know, it’s not all fun and games…in fact…

…well, I can’t come with anything right now. Will get back to you later on that. It was a gorgeous day.

So anyway, Moby Dick takes up prime real estate at the end of Stearns Wharf and offers many a ocean view table — inside and outside — and a tiny little bar set up for making cocktails. And make cocktails they do. Bartender Joseph Silva has been making drinks here for going on 18 months, having worked up from server. With no bar space to sit at, we took up residence at a table and watched kayaks, paddleboarders, sailboats and seagulls pass by.

The Glory That Is Rome – After 14 years, Sublime returns with a new singer, and a caveat

June 11, 2010June 1, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Call it the ultimate fan’s dream. Rome Ramirez, just about to turn 22, grew up worshipping the band Sublime from his Fremont, Calif., home. He decorated his room with their posters, and when he picked up a guitar at age 11, the first song he learned to play was “Wrong Way.” Fate, luck and talent had their way with Ramirez, despite his leaving home at 14. He’s now the new lead singer of Sublime and about to headline KJEE’s Summer Round Up, stepping onstage with bassist Eric Wilson and drummer Bud Gaugh, who are both twice his age.

The shoes he fills are those of lead singer Bradley Nowell, who died of a heroin overdose just as the band released its third album in 1996. A life was cut short, and the band’s success was, too. Their singles “Santeria,” “Wrong Way” and “What I Got” became hits, and the videos showed Gaugh and Wilson gamely doing their best, trying to incorporate Nowell’s ghost into the proceedings (sometimes, through computer graphics, literally).

The Spirit of Theater – ‘Ghosts of Broadway’ promises to present the stars of tomorrow in a new musical

June 11, 2010June 1, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Hamlet may have died avenging his father’s murder, but he’s spent a bit of time in the afterlife brushing up on his Broadway musical knowledge. That is the admittedly silly thesis that results in a lot of song and dance behind “Ghosts of Broadway,” the first production from Big Stage Productions, the performance arm of Santa Barbara Dance Arts. Kids from ages 8 and up will show their love of musical theater this Monday night.

Big Stage answers what founders Dauri Kennedy, Laezer Schlomkowitz, Steven Lovelace, Alana Tillim and Kathy Kelley saw as a real need in Santa Barbara. With the increasing popularity of “High School Musical,” “Glee” and “American Idol,” as well as a new interest in Broadway through a new decade of classics, a generation of children is coming up desperate for training in the all-singing, all-dancing arts.

Join in the Chant – Yoga Soup’s Kirtan series keeps getting bigger and bigger

June 11, 2010December 16, 2020 tedmills Leave a comment

Sarah Garney likes to quote a close friend who summed up the musical genre of Kirtan better than she feels she can: “Kirtan fulfills the promise of rock ‘n’ roll, because it’s participatory and uplifting.”

This “rock ‘n’ roll Sanskrit chanting” music has slowly been growing as a West Coast favorite, and with Santa Barbara as one of the definite stops on any musician’s tour. Garney has been one of the major promoters in the area and has managed some of the genre’s stars, such as Dave Stringer, and has programmed this summer series of concerts at Yoga Soup, ground zero for Kirtan, which starts tonight.

Getting away with it : ‘Loot’ returns to Swinging London for a tale of murder and robbery … and laughs

June 8, 2010June 3, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

From left, Ned Schmidtke as Truscott and Wyatt Fenner as Dennis. DAVID BAZEMORE PHOTOS — From left, Ned Schmidtke as Truscott and Wyatt Fenner as Dennis.
DAVID BAZEMORE PHOTOS

“The past is a foreign country: they do things differently there,” said L.P. Hartley in his opening lines to “The Go-Between.” Joe Orton’s “Loot,” which opened this past weekend at the Alhecama Theatre, is very foreign indeed. The farce makes traveling back to the Swinging London of the mid-1960s feel as long a trip as one to Oscar Wilde’s 19th-century Britain. As they say about traveling in new cars, your mileage may vary.

Orton was the enfant terrible of the new playwrights of his time, busting genres like Tom Stoppard but poking the establishment where it irritated them most. With his life cut short at age 34, we wonder where Orton might have gone — more political like Stoppard or Harold Pinter? Would he have been an ambassador of bad taste, like our filmmaker John Waters? Or just petered out?

Hey Ladies – Girls Night Out features comics for a good cause

June 8, 2010June 1, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

For Girls Night Out, a benefit comedy show, this will be an evening of firsts. It’s the opening of the 428 Club, formerly Sevilla, formerly Scotch Bonnet, formerly a whole lot of other venues (but always at the same classy location). And it will be the first comedy benefit the Autism Society has put on, since a karaoke benefit in April.

It will also be the first time these three comedians — organizer Carol Metcalf, along with Jann Karam and Karen Rontowski — will share a stage together, providing the laughs to earn money for a good cause.

Chili’s Grill and Bar’s Freshest Margarita

June 4, 2010June 3, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Is it possible to have a neighborhood bar in a big box mall? Hollister Brewing Co. is having a go at it, and next to them, Chili’s looks dinky by comparison, walled in on the other side by Pastavino and Holdren’s. A 10-seat bar, sports inevitably on the TV, windows that look out over the parking lot…and regulars.

Yes, Chili’s is corporate, but manager Israel Fuentes has been here five years (10 total in the Chili’s chain) and bartender Jen Bradshaw has been here three and a half. And during this economic downturn he hasn’t had to lay anybody off.

Life Imitates Farce – Joe Orton’s ‘Loot’ comes to Ensemble Theatre

June 4, 2010June 3, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

Clockwise from top left: Julian Rubel plays policeman Bobby Meadows, Heather Prete is Fay, Kerby Joe Grubb plays Hal and Wyatt Fenner is Dennis in Ensemble's "Loot." David Bazemore Photo — Clockwise from top left: Julian Rubel plays policeman Bobby Meadows, Heather Prete is Fay, Kerby Joe Grubb plays Hal and Wyatt Fenner is Dennis in Ensemble’s “Loot.”
David Bazemore Photo

During the original stage run of Joe Orton’s “Loot,” which features a dead mother as a plot device that spurs the action, the playwright’s mother died.

Orton went to Leicester for the funeral, then returned to London and the production. There is a scene where the dead mother’s false teeth are played like castanets. Backstage, Orton handed his mother’s real set to the actor Kenneth Cranham, who blanched.

The Dawn (Again) of Nights – Santa Barbara Museum of Art’s big summer party returns

June 4, 2010June 3, 2015 tedmills Leave a comment

KCRW's DJ Jeremy Sole, below, will spin for SBMA's first (of two) "Nights" events of the summer. Artists and event attendees will also take part in several interactive activities on the theme of "Pairings," and choreographer Robin Bisio returns with three dancers, two musicians, vocalists and film vignettes for a work called "Centered Green." — KCRW’s DJ Jeremy Sole, below, will spin for SBMA’s first (of two) “Nights” events of the summer. Artists and event attendees will also take part in several interactive activities on the theme of “Pairings,” and choreographer Robin Bisio returns with three dancers, two musicians, vocalists and film vignettes for a work called “Centered Green.”

Yes, the sun keeps hiding behind the clouds, but summer is really here, and for the Santa Barbara Museum of Art, that means the return of Nights. The early-to-late-evening party is one of downtown’s must-see and must-be-seen events, combining DJs, live music, art-making activities, cocktail bars and mucho opportunities to mingle.

In flusher economic times, Nights went off every third Thursday of the summer months. But that was a bit taxing on the museum and the staff, so last year, only three Nights were scheduled. This year, its seventh, Nights is down to two. But those two are going to be big.