Friday, Feb. 22, 2008

8 pm, 155 Dwinelle

$5 student, $10 general

A cappella is great. Knowing that you’re supporting a cause while listening to harmonized melodies? Even better.

Some highlights from the show:

Perfect Fifth
-Although normally specializing in medieval and Renaissance music, they sang a fun bit of gospel for us.

The UC Men’s and Women’s Chorale
-They joined together to make a massive interpretation of “Can’t Take My Eyes Off of You.” The meter for the verses felt a little strange and rushed, but the chorus paid off with so many singers.

Cal Jazz Choir
-sucked the audience in with a super-catchy, energetic “Don’t Mean a Thing if it Ain’t Got That Swing”

DeCadence
-Wow, Muse’s “Starlight” is actually a pretty song… when not performed with buzzing guitars and a super-nasal voice. Props to them for making it sound so lovely—who knew it was possible?

UC Men’s Octet
-As always, it was impossible to watch them without grinning and falling in love with their energetic, silly antics, especially that night’s version of “Help!”

In general, red, black and white seemed to be popular with the performers. Same with air guitar-ing and Beatles songs. But hey, a little extra “Hey Jude” or “When I’m 64” never hurt anyone.

Popularity: 19%

Things were looking grim for a while there, but with the WGA strike finally over, the Oscar ceremony will go on as planned. Tune in to ABC at 5 p.m. tonight to watch the show live. Or you could just read about it here!That’s right—I’ll be liveblogging the Academy Awards for your reading pleasure. Refresh your browser frantically for up-to-the-minute announcements of the winners. Sure, you could just check IMDB, but they simply can’t offer the same snarktastic commentary. (Snarktastic commentary contingent on the ceremony itself, but given how over-the-top the Oscars are every year, I think we can count on something to mock.)See you all in 40 minutes! Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 25%

My family’s neighbor is a gruff woman. She’s a whole head taller than I am and wears Carharts head to toe. She can saddle a horse in a matter of seconds and collects eggs each morning from the chickens she keeps in the barn. There’s more Colorado in her than I’ll ever have–and I’m a native–but we manage to get along.

The other day I was kicking through a field of horse shit and yucca with her when the Bay Area came up in the conversation. I told her I went to Berkeley and the first thing she mentioned, before the Bomb, before the Free Speech movement, before Ginsberg or Didion or Judith Butler, was the food. Having spent most of her 20s in SF, my neighbor’s most salient memories of that decade were the meals, which, if it reveals a side of her that I overlooked, also speaks to the quality and draw of the Bay Area’s dining scene.

“I’ll never not miss that food,” she said as she half-tackled a haflinger trying to fit a bit in its mouth. That got me thinking, Shouldn’t I take advantage while I still can?

Read the rest of this entry »

Popularity: 17%