Month: July 2006

MARIJUANA MEASURE ON BALLOT

A ballot initiative to assign minor marijuana possession the lowest possible enforcement priority by Santa Barbara police will go before city voters in the upcoming November election. Supporters of the pot measure have collected more than enough signatures to qualify it for the ballot, but had hoped City Council would adopt the measure outright. Proponents of the measure, Sensible Santa Barbara, argue that the “war on drugs” has been lost, is a waste of money, and that enforcement of pot laws clogs the jails and criminal justice system with petty offenders who pose little threat to anyone.

Canadian Singer, American Songbook

Michael Buble, with Jann Arden

At the Santa Barbara Bowl, Friday, July 21.
To open his set, Michael Buble came out swinging from behind a corny but effective silhouette screen with “Feeling Good,” a Nina Simone song that has a jazzier, more spiritual feeling than one would expect from someone who clearly venerates Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, and Dean Martin.

BOWL’S UPS AND DOWNS:

As part of their Afoostic tour, the Foo Fighters will take the stage September 2 at the Santa Barbara Bowl with special guest Timmy Curran. Tickets, which range from $28 to $48, went on sale last Saturday, so hurry to the Bowl or call Ticketmaster before they sell out. In other Bowl news, the Earth, Wind & Fire concert on August 23 has been canceled. Refunds can be received from the point of ticket purchase.

Otherworldly

SHUT UP AND PLAY: While Isla Vista’s BIKO house has long been home to some of the area’s more avant-garde musical performances, this Saturday’s show promises to bring bands the likes of which we rarely see in these parts. Three bands, no words, and full sets of epic, atmospheric, experimental rock along the lines of Godspeed You! Black Emperor or Explosions in the Sky. But the fact that these kids aren’t opening their mouths doesn’t mean they’re not worth listening to. Hailing from Massachusetts, Sparrows Swarm and Sing is a five-man band that pairs the standard drum and guitar with a cello, xylophone, glockenspiel, and pianorgan in their dreamy, quasi-melodic compositions. The band is currently touring the nation in promotion of its sophomore release, O’Shenandoah, Mighty Death Will Find Me, which features four sprawling movements instead of the typical set of a dozen or so poppy tracks.

Nomadic Black Beauty

Living in Santa Barbara, sometimes it’s nice to be reminded that black is beautiful. Right now, Charlene Pigeon’s Ways of the Nomads, photographs from the Sahel, is that welcome reminder. Showing at the Architectural Foundation of Santa Barbara, Pigeon’s photography of Wodaabe and Tuareg nomads places the inaccessible within arm’s reach and the brings the remote into the viewer’s realm of consciousness. No longer are the nomads exclusively a feature of National Geographic. Pigeon’s photos not only display her flair for capturing an elusive savanna-dwelling people; they also exhibit her photographic skill and technique, presenting color and texture as it’s seen and used in the traditional nomadic culture.