THUR 1/15: Art, Film, Folk, Rock, Poe B-Day

I feel like I'm losing my mind, but I feel pretty good other wise.

Believe it or not, Stuff(at)Night let me into the party on Tuesday at Life in Synergy.

I met Helena, the founder, and she was quite friendly and easygoing. I haven't been to a gym in years (ahem!), but I like their "no initiation or membership fee" system. She set a good tone. (And I had a couple tasty drinks with honey-infused vodka...)

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THUR 1/15

6pm to 9pm
David E. Paez, "Viajes": Opening Reception
at Casa de La Cultura / Center for Latino Arts, 85 W Newton St, Boston
FREE

Photo exhibit from trips ("viajes") to Bolivia, Chile, Argentina, Peru, and Puerto Rico. I couldn't find many images besides the one above and this one. Looks interesting.

The exhibit runs through WED 3/4.

THUR 1/15

5pm to 7pm
"Faculty Show '09": Opening Reception
Feat: Robert Baart, David Mussina, Dan Wills, Donald Sibley
at Grossman Gallery, School of MFA, 230 The Fenway, Boston (The Fens)
FREE

The exhibition marks the return of three faculty members from sabbatical -- painter Robert Baart, photographer David Mussina, sculptor Dan Wills -- and the retirement of painter Donald Sibley.

The exhibit runs through SAT 1/31.

THUR 1/15

7pm
"Tokyo!": Screening and Q&A w/ Michel Gondry
at Room 100, Bldg 26, 60 Vassar St, Cambridge (MIT campus)
FREE

Three acclaimed non-Japanese directors (Michel Gondry, Bong Joon-ho, Leos Carax) offer 30-minute glimpses the titular town. Bong Joon-ho shows a shut-in who falls in love with a pizza delivery girl (with a twist). It's melancholy surrealism from Michel Gondry (which I love). A man who mysteriously pops out of the sewers is the center of the half-hour from Carax.

Your chances of getting into tonight's preview are only slightly better than *being* in Gondry's next film. MIT & Wellesley people have preferred admission. The line for a Michel Gondry talk was immense, and I doubt there'll be an overflow room tonight. Who knows -- maybe the cold will discourage some...

THUR 1/15

7pm
Guggenheim Grotto
$5 / 21+

9:30pm
Sub Rosa, feat. Rose Polenzani w/ Friends & Strangers
$10 / 21+

at Lizard Lounge/Cambridge Common, 1667 Mass Ave, Cambridge (between Harvard Sq & Porter Sq)

When heard The Guggenheim Grotto a couple years ago, I thought their folky pop explode across America like a mini-Coldplay. Their song "Told You So" briefly took over my mind on a daily basis for months; I'd sing it to myself over and over again. Thankfully for us, the Dublin duo can still do a January residency at cozy clubs like the Lizard Lounge. The doors open at 7pm, and they should start around 8pm.

The late(r) might even be better than Guggenheim Grotto as far as being folky, musical version of Shangri-la. Amazing singer-songwriter Rose Polenzani gathers a bunch of her super-talented friends for a night of beautiful music. The kicker is that she also invites a musician she doesn't know, and we get to know them through words and music.

THUR 1/15

10pm
The Swinedells
at The Beehive, 541 Tremont St, Boston (South End)
FREE

If you're in the South End and you're having a drink, you might as well hear some (relatively) young punks put their stamp on 50's style R&B/rock 'n roll. I love that honking sax! DJ Easy Ed will spin some honky tonk and whatever else that he feels like.

THUR 1/15 & FRI 1/16

7:30pm
Celebrating the Bicentennial of the Birth of Edgar Allan Poe
at Devlin Hall, 140 Comm Ave, Chestnut Hill
FREE

It's much to late for Edgar Allan Poe to complain about Boston having an early birthday party for him. Hey, he's been dead for 150 years... Although Poe was born here -- and he was a soldier at Fort Independence/Castle Island -- he hated the Hub.

Tonight will include some discourse from Matthew Pearl (author of "The Poe Shadow") and Scott Peeples (author of "The Afterlife of Edgar Allan Poe" & "Edgar Allan Poe Revisited"). Expect a Poe-related performance, and a raven-shaped(?) cake.

Friday's program will screen "Last Days of the Raven", a indie film based on you-know-who. Screenwriter/co-director Brent Fidler will participate in a post-film Q&A session.

There's also a Poe exhibit on display until SAT 1/31.