SAT 1/23: Hot Cocoa, Sci-Fi, Surrealism, Rock

It looks like it's going to be a beautiful winter day! Yes, there's more cheapness out there. These are good bets...

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SAT 1/23

1pm to 3pm
Hot Chocolate Tasting
at Brattle Plaza, about 25 Brattle St, Cambridge (Harvard Sq)
FREE

When I think of hot chocolate (every few years), Burdick's comes to mind. Until I'm offered free samples, I didn't really think about the other nearby places that probably have good hot chocolate like Finale, Crema Cafe, Algiers Coffee House, and it's being held in front of Hidden Sweets.

Did you enjoy voting earlier this week? Your vote could decide "Best Hot Chocolate in Harvard Square"...

SAT 1/23

6pm
32nd Annual Science Fiction Marathon
at Room 100, Bldg 26, 60 Vassar St, Cambridge (MIT Campus)
FREE before 10:30pm / $8 / $5 after midnight

Schedule:

6pm -- "Evangelion: 1.0 You Are (Not) Alone"
8pm -- "District 13: Ultimatum"
10:30pm -- "Moon"
12:30am -- pizza break
1am -- "The Last Starfighter"
3:15am -- "Back to the Future Part II"
5:30am -- "Flash Gordon"

Even if the first two films weren't free, $8 for a whole night of film is pretty damn cheap. The first free flick is sponsored by the MIT Anime Club, and "District 13: Ultimatum" is an action-packed sneak preview sequel of dystopian French future.

Everyone leaves the auditorium, so only paying customers go back in for the rest of the night for the recent "concept" sci-fi (no lasers or homicidal cyborgs, I think) with Sam Rockwell and a trio of old-school flicks. ("Flaaash!")

Various shorts to be shown as well, and there will be pizza & refreshments (that might be included with admission).

The T will be running again by the time you're stumbling out...

SAT 1/23

7pm
Surrealist Night w/ Roger Miller
at Arts at the Armory Cafe, 191 Highland Ave, Somerville (Spring Hill)
$8

Conventional game nights aren't anywhere as bizarrely stimulating as a coterie of word and art games orignally conceived by the surrealists with names like "Exquisite Corpse" and the Dream Game. Games are played with 3 to 6 participants.

Roger Miller (Mission of Burma, etc) is the host, gamemaster, DJ, and beer sommelier to keep things flowing. If you need encouragement, Miller said:

The greatest virtue of these games is that they are not at all competitive. A person who is a brilliant artist may interact with a more naive drawer to produce a brilliant collective work.

SAT 1/23

8pm
Soozapalooza
at Precinct, 70 Union Sq, Somerville (Union Sq)
$8 / 21+

Feat: Ryan Walsh, Good Night States, Houndstone, and The Soozapalooza Supergroup

Have you ever thought about your dream Lollapalooza? Local music maven Sooz has corralled a kick-ass night of music for an awesome birthday party.

Ryan Walsh from Hallelujah The Hills launches the music followed by my favorite synthy indie-rockers from Pittsburgh, Good Night States. The party kicks into high gear with Houndstone's hard Southern rock. The Soozapalooza Supergroup are a collection of local musicians doing a quirky set of covers (The Cult, LL Cool J, Edie Brickell, etc) at the behest of the birthday girl. Stick around for karaoke.

If you get there early, you might enjoy homemade chocolate truffles and coconut rum sorbet... You might still even have a chance to win a prize (e.g. 8GB iPod Nano) by subscribing for updates at the site...

SAT 1/23

9pm
Bring The Knife, Ashers, Razors In The Night, Motherboar, August Spies, Hannaford & The Heartstoppers
at Middle East - Upstairs, 472 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
18+ $10

Some bands are metal... Some are punk... Some are a little of both... They will do battle, and the crowd wins. This is also first gig for Bring The Knife, which sprung from the ashes of the hardcore/metal soldiers Destructathon.

SAT 1/23

9:30pm
Brendan Boogie & The Best Intentions, Oranjuly, The Motion Sick, Paul Melancon
at Lizard Lounge/Cambridge Common, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge (between Harvard Sq & Porter Sq)
$10 / 21+

What a sweet Saturday-night basement show (where there's a bar with dozens of draft beers)! From the roaring catchy tunes of Brendan Boogie & The Best Intentions, piano-pop of Oranjuly, one of my fave bands The Motion Sick, and singer-songwriter Paul Melancon.