13
Number of grown men seen crying during the first day of games at the MGM Grand sports book for the NCAA tournament. Source: Indy journalist
Year: 2006
Mr. Prairie Soul
Neil Young: Heart of Gold
A musical documentary directed by Jonathan Demme.
Using an objective medium to get at the heart of what makes the great Neil Young so great-even in his missteps along the way-is tricky business. Just ask Jimmy McDonough, who wrote Shakey, a fascinating and thorough, but also necessarily elliptical biography of the man. Ask Jim Jarmusch, whose fine 1997 film Year of the Horse was part-concert-documentary, part-investigation into Young’s band Crazy Horse (with a wary, tight-lipped Young dodging the camera).
DOCENTS NEEDED:
Anyone looking for a more interesting line of work might want to consider the Santa Barbara Museum of Art. The
misha madness
This year has seen some of America’s most renowned modern dance companies come through town, from Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater this winter to the upcoming performance by Paul Taylor Dance Company in April. But the Santa Barbara dance scene is not to be overlooked, with performances by modern dancers, ballet, and even ballroom gracing the stage. Dance, although gorgeous in performance, is not merely a spectator sport.
BETTER LATE THAN NEVER:
More than a decade after homeless activists organized to demand the City of Santa Barbara build public restrooms on State Street, ground is set to break April 27 on two men’s and two women’s stalls at 914 State Street, in the walkway between Border’s Books and the Fiesta 5 Theater. The construction contract was awarded to Thomson Constructionthe lowest of three biddersfor $350,000; total capital costs, including city staff’s time, amounts to $490,000.
Tall and Tan and Underrated
Eliane Elias
At the Lobero Theatre, Saturday, March 18.
It took famed pianist Eliane Elias years turned into decades to make her official Santa Barbara debut, which unfolded with expected flair and artistry, Saturday at the Lobero Theatre. Circa 2006, the question hovering over this gifted Brazilian-in-New-York might be: Which Eliane would show up? Would it be the pianist who started making waves in the jazz world with her nicely integrated virtuosity and romanticism, back in 1984, or the artist recently reborn as a singer of understated but glowing vocal gifts?
GUILTY OF PEACE:
A federal judge in Santa Barbara found 56-year-old peace activist MacGregor Eddy guilty last week of trespassing at Vandenberg Air Force Base at a protest in October 2005. Last Thursday’s ruling came as no surprise after the judge dismissed Eddy’s defense of necessity at a previous hearing in February; she argued the U.S. is in violation of the Nuremberg Principles. The professional nurse faces up to six months in prison and $5,000 in fines, to be determined at a sentencing hearing in mid-June.
THE GREAT DIVIDE:
The Santa Barbara police union announced it was leaning toward endorsing incumbent Sheriff Jim Anderson at a candidates’ forum last week. Detective Mike McGrew acknowledged Anderson’s clumsiness in dealing with the media and Sheriff’s Council, but said of the four candidates he’s done the most for rank-and-file officers. The Santa Maria police union recently endorsed former sheriff Jim Thomas, and the Lompoc police union endorsed their chief, Bill Brown. But perhaps the most important endorsement in what’s sure to be a bitter political face-off is that of the Deputy Sheriffs’ Association, which recently voted not to reelect union president Sgt. Mike Durantan ardent Anderson supporter. The Santa Barbara union will wait for the DSA endorsement before taking an official stand. Because it’s unlikely any of the four candidates could secure even a simple majority of all 380 voting deputies, union leaders opted to endorse the candidate getting the most votes.
Bohemian Big Country
Gislebration
Santa Barbara Symphony presentation, conducted by Gisle Ben-Dor, with Robert Thies, piano. At the Arlington Theatre, Saturday, March 18.
From the first muted strains of The Swan of Tuonela, the rich, smooth sound of the Santa Barbara Symphony proclaimed that Maestra Ben-Dor was in command. In terms of playing together as an orchestra, the symphony has never sounded better. I did not hear a single faltering of any musician throughout the whole evening. Perhaps because it is so brief, and came first, the Sibelius impressed the most. Maestra Ben-Dor moved the English horn player, Sarah Beck, up to the front of the orchestra, and the piece became a mini-concerto. It was all mood and atmosphere, scarcely more than a sketch, but Beck’s exquisite playing and the symphony’s burnished glow made a magical interlude of the piece.
Realtor of the Week
David Florimbi
If you already think the world of real estate is strange, wait until you see it through David Florimbi’s eyes. The Santa Barbara artist, whose exhibit Imminent Domain is the current featured Bloom Project show at the Contemporary Arts Forum, uses the conventions of landscape painting, advertising graphic design, and realtor symbology to draw attention the absurdity of the whole housing industry.
