In honor of the "Birds & Bards Festival" that starts today, I found a Shakespeare poem titled "Spring":
When daisies pied and violets blue,--------------------------------------------------------------
And lady-smocks all silver-white,
And cuckoo-buds of yellow hue
Do paint the meadows with delight,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men; for thus sings he,
Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo!—O word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear!
When shepherds pipe on oaten straws,
And merry larks are ploughmen’s clocks,
When turtles tread, and rooks, and daws,
And maidens bleach their summer smocks,
The cuckoo then, on every tree,
Mocks married men; for thus sings he,
Cuckoo!
Cuckoo, cuckoo!—O word of fear,
Unpleasing to a married ear!
THUR 5/13
5pm to 6:30pm
MassArt Senior Animation Show 2010
at Remis Auditorium, Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Ave, Boston (The Fens)
FREE
I'm not sure if this is the same program as "Squealing Pegs" last week. That was the "best of the past year", so I have to assume there is some overlap with these 20 shorts by seniors.
I'm sure there will be a wide range of styles and subject matter. Titles and brief descriptions are on the MFA event page.
A Q&A follows the screening.
THUR 5/13 (thru SUN 5/16)
Various Times
5th Annual Birds & Bards Festival
at Various Locations
Most are "FREE to $10"
Isn't it Spring when the spirit traditionally stirs out of the relative slumber of Winter? In Boston, there's mainly a lot of grumbling that Spring weather is lousy, and mounds of snow remain around town. Despite the deluge of March, this may be the best Spring since '06 when this annual celebration of nature and poetry began.
Most of the walks and readings are free (or less than $10) including early morning walks. If you look at the full schedule, other events occur at Franklin Park and Boston Nature Center. All of tonight's activities happen at Forest Hills Cemetery:
At 6:30pm, you can go on a 'bird walk' with naturalist Peter Alden. I bet it'll last about an hour, since there's a 7:30pm reception that precedes an 8pm performance ($10 donation, Free for ages 12 and under) that includes poetry by Susan Edwards Richmond, nature-inspired jazz from the Tom Hall Quartet, and a talk by Alden.
FYI: If you take the T to Forest Hills, there is a totally legitimate shortcut down Tower Street.
THUR 5/13
Milquetoast & Co (Midnight), Copal (11pm), Molly Zenobia & the Machine (10pm), Cirkestra (9pm)
at TT the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$10
This gig is also the "Vintage Ball: Where passé is nouveau". There's a $2 discount if you "arrive in either a petticoat or top hat."
I get the idea that audience participation can take the show to another level. Maybe if you're into the bands on the bill, you might already have some 19th-century English attire or something in that vein from a steampunk party. Notice that it doesn't say that men have to top hats and women have to wear petticoats...
The first three bands definitely seem to fit into the dark cabaret vibe with gypsy influences. For instance, Cirkestra is a real circus band who has expanded their vision. Milquetoast & Co won't feel too out of place; I like to call them "twangy, jazzy chill-rock with cello." When your album title is "Drinking and Smoking Too Much With Women I Hate", you have to get some extra points.
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THUR 5/13
9:30pm
Bourbon Princess, Treat Her Right
at Lizard Lounge/Cambridge Common, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge (between Harvard Sq & Porter Sq)
$10 / 21+
Well, folks. This is probably the last local show for Monique Ortiz before she moves to Austin. I think her band Bourbon Princess broke up about 4 years ago, and they're getting back together for this farewell gig.
There are quite a few Mark Sandman collaborators who play around, but there's doubt in my mind that Ortiz has been the most visible adherent to the "low-rock" sound pioneered by Morphine. With drummer Jerome Deupree (ex-Morphine) and sax-man Russ Gershon (Either/Orchestra) as well as a guitarist, Bourbon Princess explored that same "noir" musical neighborhood and expanded in their own way.
Another of Sandman's old groups, Treat Her Right, have been gigging since performing at a tribute concert in September. They're going cap off the night, and Ortiz should be sitting in with them at some point tonight.
THUR 5/13
10:30pm
Movers & Shakers, Mike Fiore
at Plough & Stars, 912 Mass Ave, Cambridge (Central Sq)
FREE / 21+
Dude. Movers & Shakers will rock you. Rough and ready with a bunch of texture that that imbues songs with a variety of genres simultaneously. Like their Plough residency last year, the band is basically guaranteeing every Thursday in May will have some kick-ass music for free.
Maybe this would even be a good chance to absorb the lyrical gift of Mike Fiore as he appears to be going full-solo instead of having his Faces on Film adding sonic layers.
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