The New Orleans Jazz Orchestra, or NOJO, is a 16-piece big band that plays an incredibly broad and soulful range of jazz styles, all the way from the earliest sounds of the traditional second line funeral marches to the caterwauling pedal point of Charles Mingus and Duke Ellington.
Say, isn’t it about time we had another film festival around here? Well, on April 27 and 28, get ready for the Alumni Film Fest, a two-day event at Isla Vista’s Magic Lantern theater featuring cinema that ranges from Hollywood hits to animated shorts and indie masterpieces. The hook? Every movie was written, directed, or in some way produced by UCSB alumni. Tickets are $2 for kids, $4 for adults, and $5 for families. Here’s why you should go:
Fracture, directed by Gregory Hoblit, is an engaging thriller about an assistant district attorney who gets into a game of cat-and-mouse with a man who tried to murder his wife and is set free due to technicalities. The unexpected delight in watching this film is the witty script and the presence of two great actors sizing up one another: an old master, Anthony Hopkins, versus the rising star, Ryan Gosling, recently nominated for an Oscar due to his performance in Half Nelson.
With more than 80 bands on the bill, sales figures shooting into the hundreds of thousands, and some of the greatest names in contemporary music in support, the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival has cast shadows over the Southern California deserts for the past eight years. For one weekend out of the year, music junkies from all walks and genres suspend their discomfort with 100-degree weather and $8 bottled water for the most immersive cultural experience music has to offer.
April may not be the cruelest month any more since it is officially deemed National Poetry Month. Within the city, opportunities abound for poesy fans to take wing, but our personal favorite is the annual Young Poets Contest, which The Independent cosponsors with the Santa Barbara Public Library-one of the city’s greatest champions of budding writers.
While we may think of a Fringe Festival as being on the outskirts, this springtime celebration of dance and theater at Westmont is anything but marginal. The positive response by students who participated last year has led to a significant expansion of this year’s Fringe schedule. Each of the six days of programming featured a different shuffling of 18 distinct theater and dance performances starring, written by, and directed by Westmont students and faculty. It would have taken several days to catch every show.
The Scottish Society of Santa Barbara will hold its annual Kirkin’ o’ the Tartan-the blessing of the ancestral plaids-this Saturday, April 29, at 3 p.m. at Trinity Episcopal Church. The event, which dates back 350 years, will feature bagpipers and singing, as well as a couple unique Scottish traditions. To honor their heritage, Scots-many wearing their clan kilt and dressed in full regalia-will present their family tartans for blessing.
It’s a well-known fact that when it comes to music, Santa Barbara’s cup is overflowing. In an attempt to introduce the public to these hometown musical gems, The Independent has joined forces with 1st Thursdays-a monthly downtown art extravaganza-to present S.B.-based musicians to the masses. And there’s no better place to start than with oso.
Everybody’s Talking: Students get a safe space to rant, rave, and vent. Noon. Rm. 3112, Student Resource Ctr., UCSB. Call 893-4569.
In Double Points: Nero, things are never quite what they seem. A woman seems to dance alone, when in fact her every move is mirrored by a figure obscured by smoke. Dancers make dramatic exits, only to reappear immediately. A quiet, tender solo ends abruptly, replaced by crashing electronic noise and anxious racing.
