TUES 6/16: Films, Talk, Rock, Folk

The daily list is early. This should be an omen of good things to come...

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TUES 6/16

7pm
"Tetro": Preview Screening
at Kendall Square Cinema, 370 Binney St, Cambridge
FREE w/ Pass [PDF]

From what I've read, this movie might remind you that Francis Ford Coppola is one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. Omigod, the trailer looks so good. It gave me the chills.

In his first original screenplay in 35 years (not the mob film), it's the story of an Argentine-Italian family with plenty of flashbacks to let you know what's going on. Coppola still has the storytelling chops, but that doesn't you won't figure out the ending before the final reel. Don't let that spoil the ride. It's black and white... It's color... It's in Spanish... It's in English...

It's also one of those deals where you're not guaranteed entry, but I've made it in on a couple occasions. Print the PDF pass for two and make sure one of you gets there early.

TUES 6/16

7pm to 8pm
Dr. Alonso Ricardo, "Understanding How Life Began": Lecture
in Room C05/C06*, Boston Public Library, 700 Boylston St, Boston (Copley Sq)
FREE

Along with our cutting-edge chowder technology, science investigating the origins of life on planet Earth is happening in Boston. Why do they do it? Besides being cool information to geek on, it helps us understand where we come from and how we fit into the universe. Maybe it's like GI Joe used to say, "Knowing is half the battle."

* There were more conference rooms downstairs to the side of the Rabb Lecture Hall...

TUES 6/16

7pm
"Shaun Of The Dead" & Beer Shorts
at Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
$9.50

The celebration night for beer availability at the Brattle ($5/pint).

The people voted, and somehow people picked "Shaun Of The Dead" as the premier beer movie. It's good, but WTF? This marks the Brattle's official status as "my 2nd favorite theatre for being the other moviehouse serving beer after the Somerville Theatre".

Good for them serving suds from the Cambridge Brewing Company at $5/pint.

TUES 6/16

9:30pm
King Wilkie, Parkington Sisters, One Happy Island
at Lizard Lounge/Cambridge Common, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge (between Harvard Sq & Porter Sq)
$6 advance / $7 door / 21+

I've already said that King Wilkie does ex-bluegrass-godhead turned country-rock/Americana better than anyone else and better than you might imagine. The Wilkie Family have a June residency to showcase an tremendous new album. If The Decemberists have become too electric for you, here's King Wilkie.

Every week, KW has top-notch guests like Parkington Sisters and One Happy Island. These are all exceptional moments of musicality.

TUES 6/16

Big Big Buildings (11:30pm), Ashpark (10:40pm), I Pistol (9:50pm), Tree Frog Avengers (9pm)
at TT the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$7

Oooh, lord -- bands that sound pretty good and their MySpace pages! Talk about MySpace backgrounds, I Pistol looks like you've spent too much time underwater and loving it! Who cares about reading the text when you're rocking to that pop-crunch? Ashpark ain't bad; they may not change the world, but you gotta love the abstract expressionist background on their MySpace page.

I might show up late instead of early. The music is still eclectic pop, but I'm having problems embracing the new name of "Tree Frog Avengers" (fka Pop County). I don't like the name of "Big Big Buildings", but he's better-than-most decent folky singer-songwriter stuff.

TUES 6/16

10:30pm
Chick Graning, Abbie Barrett, Kaitlin Dibble, etc?
at Plough & Stars, 912 Mass. Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
FREE

If you haven't done anything yet, there's always the Plough. That's how I usually think of it. It doesn't matter what's going on ther, but it's a good place to hang out and have a few pints.

Chick is kinda local legend, because he was in Scarce and was going to big really big deal in a mega-way with Scarce until he had an aneurysm before the major tour. He's doing it again, including a folky night about once a month with a regular bunch of solid singer-songwriters. When you want to end up somewhere between Central and Harvard, and you don't want anyone to see you...