SAT 3/13: Jazz, Opera, Queerotica, Rock, Ships

Remember, most of you won't melt if you go outside...

I'm off to NH for the day. Have a good weekend!

Update: In case I don't get another chance to post, the calendar has quite a few cheap options for Sunday beyond the St Patty's Parade in Southie.

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SAT 3/13

9am to 5pm
42nd Annual High School Jazz Festival
at Hynes Convention Center, 900 Boylston St, Boston (Back Bay)
FREE

On a rainy day, it's not bad to walk around a convention center listening to young jazz bands. I went for a couple hours a couple years ago, and it was fun. The high school bands are competing for something Berklee-related... Some Berklee ensembles perform, and a few pros give clinics.

My picks: Delfeayo Marsalis (Noon) of that Marsalis regularly attends. Crescent Super Band (Noon) are an 'all-star' youth band from Utah (Most of these kids can't drink or smoke, so they have plenty of practice time. Jazz drummer Peter Erskine is joining them and doing his own session later (2pm). I would walk over from a different room to listen to Berklee Concert Jazz Orchestra (2pm) and Berklee P-Funk Ensemble (4pm).

Check the site for a full schedule.

SAT 3/13

3pm, 8pm
"Der Zwerg (The Dwarf)"
at Black Box Theatre, Boston Center for Arts, 539 Tremont St, Boston (South End)
FREE

There have been performances since Thursday.

This one-act, 90-minute one-act (based on a short story by Oscar Wilde) originally set in old Spain has been brought to the present-day.

It's terribly cruel and heartbreaking story of a princess who is given a dwarf for her birthday. The dwarf falls in love with her, but he's never seen his reflection and doesn't know what he looks like. Of course the princess leads him on, and you may guess the wacky antics that happen next...

It will still be sung in German with projected English translations.

SAT 3/13

7pm to 9:30pm
Body Heat: Femme Porn Tour 2010
at Lily Pad, 1353 Cambridge St, Cambridge (Inman Sq)
$10

Feat: Kathleen Delaney, Diana Cage, Meliza Banales, Jen Cross, Nicky Click, Gigi Frost, Alex Cafarelli, Vagina Jenkins

I get the impression -- no, I'm almost positive -- that this spoken-word and performance-art tour has been created "by women for women". One of the goals is:

...to support and promote queer femmes in their contributions to erotica, the sex industry, the sex-positive movement, and in forming a more complex sexual identity through art and performance.

Of course, all well-behaved, open-minded people are welcome. I've heard it's usually a full house.

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SAT 3/13

8pm
Yoni Gordon and the Goods
at Rosebud Bar & Grill (behind Diner), 381 Summer St, Somerville (Davis Sq)
$5 / 21+
Yes, it starts at 8pm, because there's another good show at 10pm.

If let your defenses down and stop trying to act cool for a few minutes, you could find yourself jumping around the room flailing your arms and shaking your head to the liberating bliss of Yoni Gordon and the Goods. The passionate, high-register yowl of Yoni has got stuff to say, but I love when the band bashes it out. Fans of Ted Leo, Elvis Costello, Graham Parker, etc should love this stuff.

Part of the show could be a version of rock 'n roll karaoke where individuals have arranged to sing a few covers with the band. Good times at my new favorite bar in Davis Sq! There are plenty of seats, but you shouldn't use them.

I added a video in the middle of the post yesterday, so here's a clip of Yoni & The Goods on CCTV:


SAT 3/13

St. Helena (Midnight), The Lights Out (11pm), Vulgarrity (10pm), The Future Everybody (9pm)
at Church, 69 Kilmarnock St, Boston (Fenway)
$10 / 21+

If you ever see The Lights Out in a national music magazine or on a late-late night talk show, it will make sense because these guys write hooky songs over tight, guitar-based pop-rock. We'll also cheer for the regular-guy vibe that's made good.

As for St Helena, the way they sing melancholy lyrics over relatively cheerful indie-rock (especially "Oh Jane", which should be a hit) gets a thumb up from me. This will probably be the last time I mention that some dudes from Scamper are rocking as The Future Everybody, because the new band is making their own fine powerpop. (But Scamper fans will dig it.) I have a feeling that brother-sister duo VulGarrity's potent tunes and stage performance will impress.

SAT 3/13

9:30pm
The Gilded Splinters, Asa Brebner, Andrea Gillis
at PA's Lounge, 345 Somerville Ave, Somerville (Union Sq)
$8 -- 21+ / $11 -- 18+

Asa Brebner is awesome, and he has a new CD with the upbeat title "Suenos De Los Muertos" (or "Dreams of the Dead"). Jim Sullivan recently had a conversation with Asa about the record etc, and he comes across as an amiable yet crusty artist. He seems as approachable as anyone else when he's bellied up to the bar at The Plough, but I know I'd say something stupid about Jonathan Richman & The Modern Lovers -- or something like that.

His own material is a pretty fantastic body of subtle, rootsy rock. It's hard to listen to the new stuff online, but I found one track on Ryan's Smashing Blog.

On either side of his set will be the kickass Americana sounds of The Gilded Splinters and the rocking Andrea Gillis Band.

SAT 3/13 to MON 3/15

Various Times
USS Halyburton & Frigate Hessen (Germany)
at Charlestown Navy Yard
FREE

Saturday: 10am to 4pm
Sunday: Noon to 4pm
Monday: 10am to 4pm

I saw it in an email, then on a blog with plenty of details, and I checked with the Navy. You can tour US and German naval ships.

Obviously, there's going to be security requirements like:

No weapons, bags of any kind, or drinking containers will be allowed.
Small purses and cameras will be permitted.
Visitors are welcome to photograph the exterior of the ship only.

Tours on a first-come, first-served basis, and the ships are not handicapped accessible.

USS Halyburton at Pier 1 in front of USS Constitution; Frigate Hessen at Pier 4 just outside the Navy Yard.