"Birth of the Cool: California Art, Design, and Culture At Midcentury" takes a look at the broad cultural zeitgeist of "cool" that influenced the visual, graphic, and decorative arts, furniture, architecture, music, and film produced in California in the 1950s and early 1960s. The exhibition, organized by the Orange County Museum of Art, includes a jazz lounge; a media bar with film, animation, and television programming; a period art gallery of hard-edge abstract paintings; selections of art, architectural, and documentary photography; and an interactive timeline that highlights examples of California, national, and international culture and history in the 1950s.
The Space Parlour: Live in St. Louis Series 2008
By Christian Schaeffer
The Riverfront Times, September 10, 2008
The second installment of The Space Parlour: Live in St. Louis series does what any good local compilation should do: It provides a sonic snapshot of a city's working musicians, highlights stylistic differences and suggests some sonic connections that transcend genre. These twenty tracks, which were recorded earlier this spring and broadcast on Nick Acquisto's KDHX (88.1 FM) radio show of the same name, demonstrate the programmer's diverse taste in music. While the previous incarnation of the series focused more on of-the-moment indie rock, the 2008 edition broadens the spectrum to include variations of guitar-based rock & roll. Learn, Artist! condenses its epic, instrumental explorations into "Under the Volcano," carving out a space that is both amorphous and suggestive. It's especially nice to see Dub Kitchen on the comp — this town's reggae community has deep roots, but it rarely crosses over into other scenes. The group's uptempo "District 3" follows the proud tradition of reggae songs that ask probing political questions while never dropping the beat.
While the sojourns away from straight-ahead rock & roll are noteworthy, there's plenty of good old-fashioned 4/4 rock action as well. The Deserters start off the disc with "Trash," a snaky, spindly shot of crunchy guitars and off-kilter vocals, and the Vultures reassert themselves as garage-rock saviors with a pair of raucous tracks. And while Theodore labors more squarely in the alt-country vein, the quartet continues to make its claim as the best band in town with the unhinged sing-along "Half Pint" and the circular, droning "Nowhere Near the Sea." It's worth picking up Live in St. Louis 2008 for Theodore's songs alone, although there are plenty of bands here that deserve your attention. The package also comes with a DVD containing live footage from the recordings. And while the prospect of watching a bunch of headphone-wearing dudes playing in a recording booth may not seem like compelling viewing, it serves as a nice visual complement to the music on the disc.
CD/DVD release shows at 9 p.m. on Saturday, September 13, and Wednesday, September 17, at Off Broadway, 3509 Lemp Avenue. $10. 314-773-3363.
KDHX DJ releases local rock compilation DVD
By Matt Fernandes
St. Louis Post-Dispatch
Nick Acquisto, DJ for the Space Parlour show on KDHX FM 88.1, has been doing some good work of late with his “Live in St. Louis” series, documenting several local bands’ live performances on his show (Thursdays 8 pm.)
Similar to Lo-Fi Saint Louis, Acquisto’s site showcases some of St. Louis’ more ecclectic acts, such as Peck of Dirt, Theodore and Bob Reuter. He seems to favor grittier Americana and rock, though reggae act Dub Kitchen is included.
Acquisto will release the second annual series compilation this month at three shows. With a $10 cover charge, you’ll get a Digipak CD/DVD featuring live audio and video tracks from 11 artists. Attendees will also receive a "Parlour Cardlour," granting them access to the other shows for half price.
Wed. Sept. 17: The Deserters, Quief Quota and Learn, Artist! at Off Broadway.
Sat. Sept. 20: Dub Kitchen, Dozemarypool and Theodore at the Tin Can Tavern downtown on Locust.
All of the shows will benefit KDHX.
The poem "Nailed Seraphim" by K. Curtis Lyle is the subject of the 2008 Poetry Scores Art Invitational, to be held Friday, November 21 at Hoffman LaChance Contemporary, 3100 Sutton Blvd. in Maplewood, Mo. We would like to invite you to participate in the show.
A copy of "Nailed Seraphim" is available on the poet’s blog by clicking here.
The assignment: make a new piece of art that responds to "Nailed Seraphim" and is named after a verbatim scrap of language from the poem. In the past, we have tried to limit the show to stuff you can hang on the wall or easily stand up in the space, but there are no strict limits –- other than that we have to fit everything into Hoffman LaChance, and we are inviting something like 40 artists. This means we hope at least some artists work small –- but, in past years, we have proudly shown some monumental pieces at the art invitational.
