MON 1/19: MLK Day @ MFA, Science Film, Funkiness

Oh, my. How I lacked motivation this weekend! I tried and worked on it, but it's not there yet. I still have until tonight! I'll get up-to-date. (My apologies to MLK and Karsh, but this seemed like a more interesting image to post.)

Btw, I'm planning to send out some kind of weekly list to subscribers tonight...

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MON 1/19

10am to 4:45pm
MLK Jr Day -- Open House
at Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave, Boston
FREE

Every year the MFA opens the doors wide open on Martin Luther King Jr's birthday. It's one of the best deals in town, even without doing anything else. (When was the last time you saw their excellent collection?) It's the last day of the Karsh exhibit, and it's portraiture of basically the most famous people of the 20th century.

Extra culture includes: a film program (12:30pm) with a short on Paul Robeson and a feature-length documentary on Shirley Chisholm's historic '72 presidential campaign (Hello, Barack?), a poetry slam/spoken-word performance (2:30pm), a lecture/concert (3:30pm) about how music traveled from Africa with Bill Banfield & a Berklee faculty ensemble, photography-related activities, various guided gallery tours.

MON 1/19
7pm
"Theremin: An Electronic Odyssey" w/ Tod Machover & Dalit Hadass Warshaw
at Coolidge Corner Theatre, 290 Harvard St, Brookline
$9.75 / $7.75 students, seniors

I've seen this movie, and it's pretty cool. You've heard the theremin a thousand times or more in your life. Leon Theremin was a scientific giant who created something new and creative -- a completely new musical instrument that alllows 100% human expressiveness. His life gets really crazy and mysterious.

It's good to watch on your own, but musical experimenter (and MIT professor) Tod Machover will introduce the film and lead a Q&A afterwards. Dalit Hadass Warshaw will also give a short performance, and you might see how difficult it is to make conventional music with a theremin.

MON 1/19

10pm
Lovewhip, Cathy Cathodic, Ms. Dominica K
at Charlie's Kitchen, 10 Eliot St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
$5 / 21+

There is going to be a good time whether you like it or not. There will be a wave of good times with a riptide that will tickle your feet until you boogie down or drown. Lovewhip may be our answer to Prince, except it's a funky, electro--jam with female guitar-slinging mastermind.

I'm also starting to think that Cathy Cathodic may be the next hot underground sensation to explode out of Boston. Every rap pushes the envelope with tongue WAY in cheek, but it still surprises you. Dominica K is twirling the baton to make it stranger and more fun. Right?

No guarantees, but this is where you can go buck-wild in a cool place on a Monday night.