TUES 3/10: Craft, Art, Comedy, Rock

Hey, folks. I'll have a post later today on Friday's (3/13) BlastFest, and I'm going to try something new by giving away a free pair of tickets to the show. I imagine it might be about 6pm or so...

(Is it just me who's still hating the time change?)

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TUES 3/10

6pm to 8pm
Tom Conroy, "Woodworking Tools in Jost Amman's The Bookbinder (1658)"
at North Bennet Street School, 39 N. Bennet Street, Boston (North End)
FREE

Those who'd like to like to spend their days in the basement or workshop will love a trip to NBSS. Only the students get their hands dirty in carpentry, instrument building, locksmithing, book-binding, and other crafts.

Classes are available, but there are some free lectures besides the annual open house to get you in the door for cheap. They're a bit specialized in a craft/artisan vein, but tonight's program has a historical twist with renaissance woodworking and bookbinding. Jost Amman was apparently one of the most prolific and respected illustrators of his time.

To make sure you can get in, you should email or call 617-227-0155 (ext 102).

TUES 3/10

6:30p–8:00p
"An Evening with Video Artist Bill Viola": Lecture/Presentation
at Room 250, Bldg 10, 222 Memorial Dr, Cambridge (MIT Campus)
FREE

Bill Viola is getting a $75k award for creative achievement from MIT. Various artists/architects/authors have been chosen over 35 years, but what took them so long?

I saw a Viola retrospective years ago, and it was amazing. To call him a video artist doesn't do justice to Bill Viola. There were moving images and light, but I don't recall many video screens simply hanging on a wall. There was: a tiny screen hanging inches from the floor, projections on a field of fabrics, disorienting lights swing around the room, and multiple bombardments around an old TV set.

Sitting in an auditorium won't be the same as a gallery, but Eastern philosophy influences his work so it should be an interesting presentation if you can't get the full experience of some of the pieces. Hey, Bill Viola has partied with the Dalai Lama (at least, he's recored him).

Call me crazy, but I think The Edge might show up. I met him at the Bill Viola exhibit, and U2 is doing a secret show (shhh...) tomorrow night.

TUES 3/10

9:30pm
The Rob Crean Show: 1-Year Anniversery Show
w/ Gary Petersen, Dan Crohn, MC Mr. Napkins, Peace Loving
at O'Brien's, 3 Harvard St, Allston
$7 / 21+

Who knew it would last a year? It's a comedy show in the format of variety/talk show. Imagine a late-night talk show with various sketches, interviews, and performances, and a "humorous take on the news" segment. Now imagine it being funny... One of the funniest guys I've heard in a while is MC Mr. Napkins; he does these hilarious raps far off the radar of other hip-hoppers. Peace Loving (I ignore your comma) is a group of bizarre, freaky, fun experimentalism.

Members of the Anderson Comedy troupe will probably perform as well.

TUES 3/10

Mother Mary & The Disciples (11:30pm), Pile (10:40pm), The Milling Gowns (9:50pm), Adam The Moth (9pm)
at TT the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St, Cambridge (Central Sq)
$7

The best cheap music show I saw for tonight, and there's something interesting to hear from start to finish. Every band seems to emphasize the noir, minor-key side of rock. It might be lazy to even call these bands "rock". The Milling Gowns and Mother Mary & The Disciples both have unconventional instrumentation. The Milling Gowns have called themselves "gloom pop" and eschew guitar for piano and viola. Mother Mary & The Disciples also include a violin and trumpet. There's some electronica mixed in the sounds of Adam The Moth and Pile.