Weekly Rochester Events #365: Days or Weeks

Thursday, January 5, 2006

Ah yes: the end-of-year update, or at least the essay wherein the year changes.

Last Wednesday I decided to get out of the house, which in itself isn't unusual at all, except that instead of selecting a destination beforehand, I tried getting directions from myself in a more intuitive way. I deliberately occupied my conscious mind with driving and received instructions from my self: "turn right," "follow that car," "stop following them now and turn right," "keep going," "turn right," and "here; yes ... stop here." I ended up at Carroll's Bar and Restaurant (1768 E. Main St.)

It was a little unnerving going in — since I had no ulterior purpose to being there (i.e. there weren't any musical performers that I knew of.) Well, I guess it was rather exciting to walk into a new place, even if it's just a really nice neighborhood pub. Once I got in, I serendipitously ran into an acquaintance from O'Bagelo's (165 State Street) who regularly hangs out there. Consciously I had no idea that she did, although I had probably overheard a mention of it now and then.

The weird thing was I was actually more receptive to new things than usual. It was like when you go to a city on vacation and you meet all kinds of interesting people — they're often the same kinds of people right under our collective nose, but we're too wrapped up in our established patterns to notice. I wondered if I had intended to visit Margaret, or to meet new people, or to talk with the attractive black woman I kept being drawn into eye-contact with.

Alas, nothing dramatic transpired, but it was a new and fun kind of thing to do.

On Thursday I headed out a little early to get a snack and read some more of Affluenza. I ended up at The Little Theatre Café (240 East Ave.) and had one of their quite tasty (but getting rather expensive with the recent price increase) chicken panini sandwiches and a glass of nice and dry Via Firenza Chiante.

After that I joined the small group of folks in the Drinking Liberally group at Monty's Korner (355 East Ave.) I've come to find out that they're far more interested in current events and the liberal-versus-conservative analysis thereof than I had first suspected. This coming week the local founder is expected to return from holidays/vacation so I'll get a better feel ... hopefully it's more proactive than I expect.

I stopped by The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) after that. I finally got to see Skull who's this great (i.e. accurate) one-man guitar/synth-drum stoner-rock cover band. I also noticed that Eddie Nebula and the Plague is more fun to watch and more interesting to listen to if you're way up close to the stage — the closer the better. It was also the CD release show for Gaylord and I enjoyed them as much as ever.

On Friday I went to The Animation Show and it was nice to refresh my memory of some of the great animated shorts since I saw it back in April. F.E.D.S. by Jen Drummond is an amusing documentary about "Food Education Demo Specialists," the title of the people who give out samples at the supermarket. It's additionally unique because it's entirely animated using the same techniques as for Waking Life. On the other hand, I think this is the third time I've seen Don Hertzfeldt's (also at Internet Movie Database) The Meaning of Life and I still don't get it. Let me qualify that: I don't get it when I heard someone tell me they were "moved to tears" by it. I just can't muster anything but passing empathy for goofy-eyed stick figures; maybe I'm just prejudiced.

On Saturday night — New Year's Eve — I went to a friends house and had a pleasant and fun evening of wine and homemade sushi. However, they were heading out and althought I felt drawn to join them, I decided to continue with my original plans of going to Betty Meyer's Bullwinkle Café (622 Lake Ave.) Maybe it was for the best afterall ... along the way I started feeling some form of the flu coming on. When I arrived, it was much busier than I had expected and hoped. Alas, I missed out on champagne and was saddened to be among the things overlooked by an overworked friend with whom I thought I was less overlookable.

The lesson here, I think, is to stick to instincts and intuition: if you're heart tells your head that your plans are about to go to hell, you should probably listen.

I mean what if "waking life," like in Waking Life is what the waking life is all about? What if it is just bending ideas so you can construct stupid sentences? Er ... no ... I mean, what if it's all about turning your "real" life into a "dream" life — to let yourself call the shots the way it does in your dreams? That's to say, assuming your dreams are in fact manifestations of things in your own mind (i.e. not composed of things outside your own mind) then why not let the leash out on that part of your mind?

T H U R S D A Y

Today from 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. in the Kate Gleason Auditorium of The Rochester Public Library (115 South Ave.) is Thursday Thinkers with Muffy Meisenzahl, administrator of The Monroe County Office of Emergency Preparedness (1190 Scottsville Rd.) with a discussion titled Is the Rochester Area Prepared For Disaster? [source: Rochester Public Library calendar] [all ages] This afternoon at 5:30 p.m. at The Memorial Art Gallery (500 University Ave., near Goodman St.) is a discussion by Nancy Norwood about The Entombment by Luca Giordano. [source: Memorial Art Gallery calendar] [all ages] Over at A|V Art Sound Space (#8 in the Public Market, off N. Union St., formerly The All-Purpose Room) starting around 7 p.m. is The Bayonettes, Mindless, really good punk-rock band The UV Rays, wild, classic-style punk from Destrux, Finisher, and Hanging Tough. [source: artsound website] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Les Amants (The Lovers) starting at 8 p.m. A man and woman meet and find joy through one another; you might additionally want to see it because it pushed the boundaries of censorship in France during the late 1950's. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] The Montage Live (50 Chestnut St., formerly the Montage Grille) will be hosting Hard Logic starting around 8:30 p.m. [source: Montage calendar] Tonight at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) is solidly good punk band The Sweatshop Boys, and Moustache starting around 9:30 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar] [18+] Pure Kona Poetry Open Mic Night is at Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) tonight starting at 7:30. [source: Daily Perks calendar] [all ages] Drinking Liberally meets at 8 p.m. tonight at Monty's Korner (355 East Ave.) [source: RocWiki calendar]

F R I D A Y

Tonight from 5 p.m. to 8 p.m. is the opening of Ahron R. Foster's Out of the Gates photography at Image City Photography Gallery (722 University Ave.) [source: Image City Photography Gallery flyer] Tonight at both Water Street Music Hall and The Club at Water Street (204 N. Water St.) is The Battle of the Bands — The Championship Round starting around 5:30 p.m. [source: Water Street calendar] [all ages] This evening from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. at The Rochester Visual Studies Workshop (31 Prince St.) is the opening of the The Evolutionary Girls Club exhibit titled Memory Making Meaning. [source: City Newspaper] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Il Gatopardo (The Leopard) starting at 8 p.m. The crumbling of an aristocratic family in 1860's Sicily is documented in this full-length restored version. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Updated: Burning Snella will be out at The Jam Room (3873 Buffalo Rd., formerly the Buffalo Roadhouse) tonight starting around 10 p.m. [source: band e-mail]

S A T U R D A Y

O'Bagelo's, 165 State Street, noon. John Kastner will be at Abundance Cooperative Market (62 Marshall St.) starting around 1 p.m. [source: Abundance Co-op calendar] [all ages] This afternoon at 1 p.m. at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) is a Photography Lecture in the Curtis Theatre titled A Style All Their Own by Grant Romer followed at 2:30 p.m. by a tour by Grant of the exhibition Young America: The Daguerreotypes of Southworth & Hawes. [source: Eastman House calendar] Today from 3:15 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. at Abundance Cooperative Market (62 Marshall St.) is a book talk and signing from Ann Miller-Cohen about her book Fresh Taste for Breakfast. [source: Abundance Co-op calendar] [all ages] Tonight from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. is the opening of the Curators Show at A|V Art Sound Space (#8 in the Public Market, off N. Union St., formerly The All-Purpose Room) featuring works by Andy Gilmore, Mike Twohig, Chris Reeg, Lynn Hileman, a multimedia installation by David Merulla, film projections by Cameron Farash, and 3-D art by Joe Tunis. The show runs until January 28. [source: artsound website] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Manhattan starting at 8 p.m. One of Woody Allen's most revered movies — a "love letter to his hometown." [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Starry Nites Café (696 University Ave., formerly Moonbeans) will be hosting Kate Lee, and No Strings Attached starting around 9 p.m. [source: Starry Nites calendar] [all ages] Mrs. Skannotto will be at Monty's Krown (875 Monroe Ave.) starting around 10:30 p.m. [source: JamBase calendar for Rochester] [21+] Rock-and-roll band Bird Circuit, great, mellow rock-and-roll from Hinkley, and Aquaholic will be at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) starting around 10:45 p.m. [source: Bug Jar calendar] Tonight starting at 10 p.m. at The Montage Live (50 Chestnut St., formerly the Montage Grille) is a benefit for The Golisano Children's Hospital at Strong (601 Elmwood Ave.) in honor of Evan Thrasher featuring Inherence, The Jay Palermo Project, really good metal band Ghost, tight, technical rock from BML, and Black Alchemy. [source: Montage calendar] Tonight's another Betty's Sing-a-Long at Betty Meyer's Bullwinkle Café (622 Lake Ave.) starting around 10.

S U N D A Y

Today at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. in the Fountain Court of The Memorial Art Gallery (500 University Ave., near Goodman St.) is a brief presentation and demonstration of the installed Italian Baroque organ by Robert Kwan unfortunately titled Going for Baroque. [source: Memorial Art Gallery calendar] [all ages] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing Point Blank starting at 7 p.m. A crook gets revenge for being double-crossed in a heist. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Tonight at A|V Art Sound Space (#8 in the Public Market, off N. Union St., formerly The All-Purpose Room) is Achilles, Scream Hello, and Straight No Chaser starting around 8 p.m. [source: WBER calendar] Tonight at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) around 8:30 p.m. is another Hip Hop Haven. [source: band e-mail] Starry Nites Café (696 University Ave., formerly Moonbeans) is hosting their weekly Open Mike Poetry tonight at 7 p.m. [source: Starry Nites calendar]

T U E S D A Y

Over at The Bug Jar (219 Monroe Ave.) starting around 10 p.m. is Faded Grey, and The Sunstreak. [source: Bug Jar calendar] [18+] Tonight at 8 p.m. is the premiere of the new play, Vigil at Geva (75 Woodbury Blvd.) [source: Geva Theatre website] Daily Perks (389 Gregory St.) is hosting an Acoustic Open Mic from 8 to 10. [source: Daily Perks calendar]

W E D N E S D A Y

This evening from 5 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. at Verb Café at Writers and Books (740 University Ave.) is a meeting of The Freedom Writers Group who write letters in support of writers and journalists around the world. [source: Writers and Books calendar] [all ages] This evening starting around 6:30 p.m. at The Arts and Cultural Council for Greater Rochester (277 N. Goodman St.) is an Artist Networking Event featuring Michael Rogers's Dot-to-Dot. [source: Arts and Cultural Council e-mail] The Dryden Theater at George Eastman House (900 East Ave.) will be showing La Ciénaga (The Swamp) starting at 8 p.m. A couple families duke it out against a backdrop of socioeconomic decay. [source: Eastman House calendar] [all ages] Updated: Excellent digitally-enhanced acoustic music from Autumn In Halifax, very low-key acoustic from Carbonic, and The Years (members of the Blood and Bone Orchestra) will be at A|V Art Sound Space (#8 in the Public Market, off N. Union St., formerly The All-Purpose Room) tonight starting around 8. [source: band e-mail] Poor People United meets tonight and every Wednesday at 7 at St. Joseph's House of Hospitality (402 South Ave.) [source: the proverbial grapevine] There's an Open Mic for Acoustic Music at Boulder Coffee Co. (100 Alexander St.) tonight around 8. [source: the proverbial grapevine] [all ages]

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