TUES 7/7: Ego & Oracle, Film, Acoustic

I wrote quite a bit about the first show, but I feel strongly that it's worth the price of admission. Even though this Lizard Lounge doesn't have "White Trash Parties", I still like going there...

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TUES 7/7

9:30pm
Jim's Big Ego: "The Ego & The Oracle"
at Lizard Lounge/Cambridge Common, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge (between Harvard Sq & Porter Sq)
$10 / 21+

Update: I cleaned this up and posted this event on Bostonist.

After a couple extended runs at Jimmy Tingle's Off Broadway Theater in '06 and '07, "The Ego & The Oracle" returns for one performance. If there was any justice, this metaphysical music/comedy show would be playing 6 nights a week in a big theatre, and no one would know "Shear Madness". (Maybe the guys in the band should paint their faces blue...?)

The format is a clever mix of music, prognostication, audience participation, and a healthy amount of humor. I like the description where "Ouija Board meets iPod Shuffle".

The band is "The Ego" (Jim's Big...), and the Wheel of Song is "The Oracle" which answers your question with a lucky spin to the appropriate tune like the rock 'n roll version of I Ching. You ask the questions, and the "interpreter" will talk through the meaning of the song in relation to the question.

At the beginning of the show, everyone writes down a question about the future. It could be something serious or a goofball question normally reserved for a Magic 8-Ball.

The "magic" begins when a question is chosen from the box and the wheel is spun to pick the soothsaying song to be performed by Jim's Big Ego.

Every JBE song is a different combination of articulate, funny, poignant, and melodic. Fans may hope their favorites from the band's jazzy/folk/rock will come up. You won't leave disappointed, because any of these songs could become a new favorite.

Afterwards, you sit on stage with Shawn Peters, the interpreter from the last production, to discuss how that song relates to your question. You'll be amazed how well some songs answer the query, and there are many rather funny results.

In the past it seemed to be a 2-hour or 90-minute show with an intermission, so it should be similar tonight. All questions can't be addressed during the show, but the remaining items are pulled out of the box as the impromptu lyrics of the closing song.

TUES 7/7

9pm to 10:30pm
"Illustrated Oddities": Screening
at The Savant Project, 1625 Tremont St, Boston (Mission Hill)
FREE

This bar hosted one of the pre-festival parties this year, so it doesn't seem so random to screen the animated shorts program from the Boston Underground Film Festival (March '09). I've seen a couple of these works, and they can be creepy but interesting and funny -- especially if you're just hanging out having a few drinks. (They serve cheap PBR.) This year's BUFF seemed to have an emphasis on horror, but there's a variety of genres as well as various types of animation.

TUES 7/7

9:30pm
Tuesday Acoustic Showcase
Feat: The Dejas, Hey Pretty
at Tommy Doyle's (upstairs), 96 Winthrop St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
FREE-ish

I was eating dinner and heard the music on a Tuesday night. I didn't pay a cover (maybe $2 or $3 or nothing), but we were there well before the bands started.

The Dejas have a lot of personality in this acoustic guitar 'n percussion duo. The songs sound good with gentle vocals, and the percussionist employs an array of instruments to keep it interesting. Hey Pretty are an interesting duo where their song names are similar to others ("Save Yourself", "That's Just What You Do", "Something to Talk About" remind of Aimee Mann and Bonnie Raitt), but they're not covers. The recordings don't sound great, but I hear talent and effort in there.

I believe there were more than two acts when I was there...