MUSIC
Thursday, 4/8: The US Air Guitar Championships: Philadelphia Regional Finals, Johnny Brenda’s, $ 10, 21+
Do you have particularly good air guitar skills? Has all that time playing Rockband paid off? Find out by signing up to participate in the Official US Air Guitar Championships. The winner of this regional competition will head to New York for the chance to be crowned US Air Guitar Champion and have a chance to move on to the Air Guitar World Championships. Contestants are judged on technical merit, stage presence and “airness.” Right. It’s like the Olympics but dumber and better, all at the same time.
Tuesday, 4/13: Xiu Xiu with tUnE-yArDs, First Unitarian Church, $12, All Ages
Holy hell, tUnE-yArDs is a freaking weird band. Unlike anything else out there, the jury is still out on whether or not this is a good thing. We’ll be going to gather some evidence so we can finally put the issue to rest. Xiu Xiu’s synthy tunes sweeten the deal — unlike tUnE-yArDs, they aren’t a gamble. Even though you may see some weird girls wearing cat ears, you’ll also see a damn good show.
Wednesday, 4/14: The Appleseed Cast with Dreamend, First Unitarian Church, $10, All Ages
Drexel University’s student radio WKDU sponsors this show in conjunction with local booking masters, R5 productions (psst — WQHS, step it up!). Post-rockers The Appleseed Cast will be jumping on the full-album live show bandwagon, playing Volumes One and Two of their Low Level Owl albums in their entirety. Fans of Black Moth Super Rainbow should make sure to arrive early — Ryan Graveface, their guitarist, will be opening with his solo project.
Wednesday, 4/14: Mi Ami with U.S. Girls, Hot Guts and My Mind, Danger Danger Gallery, $10, All Ages
Built from the ashes of legendary Dischord band Black Eyes, San Francisco drum punk trio Mi Ami heads to the east coast. The band is known for their killer, intensely percussive live shows and will be supported by some of the best bands West Philadelphia has to offer, making for a spastic and very noisy night.
THEATER
Now — Saturday, 4/17: Some Assembly Required, Society Hill Playhouse, $25
Poor Sybil Dorset. America's first and favorite multiple personality was born in the wrong time period. Between exposure from shows like United States of Tara, Heroes, and various comic books and novels, Americans have come to understand and demystify Dissociative Identity Disorder. Some Assembly Required is Kate Brennan's one act musical take on determining the difference between fact and fantasy.
Now — Saturday, 5/8: Macbeth, The Philadelphia Shakespeare Theater, $20
Double, double toil and trouble … watch Macbeth's life turn to rubble. Sure, the Shakespeare Theater Company's take on Billy's tragic commentary on the cost of ambition may be the same play that you read in 10th grade English class, but can you really have too much backstabbing, murder, and borderline psychosis? Nay, Lady Macbeth, nay.
ARTS
Today, A Soviet Philadelphia Story, Philadelphia Museum of Art, 3:00 p.m., Free with Museum Admission
In the early days of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the institution launched a groundbreaking exhibition, Art of Soviet Russia. Northwestern Professor Christina Kiaer will deliver a talk on Aleksandr Deineka, the artist who accompanied the exhibition from the Soviet Union to the City of Brotherly Love. While here, he created work informed by his experience in the United States — Professor Kiaer will touch on one of these works, 1935's Boredom, and its social, political and artistic implications.
Today, 4/8 - Sunday, 4/11: Digital Swap Meet, Institute of Contemporary Art, During Museum Hours, Free
The infamous English 165 presents their Digital Swap Meet, a project in conjunction with ICA’s current exhibition, Maira Kalman: Various Illuminations (of a Crazy World). Swing by with your laptop or hard drive to pick and choose from the massive amounts of data and files compiled by the group and leave with a new music collection or a used term paper. Of course this is totally illegal, but it’s okay if it’s in the name of art, right?
Wednesday, 4/14: Jewish Culture in Maira Kalman’s Work, Institute of Contemporary Art, 6:30, Free
A lot of people are feeling a little closer to their Jewish heritage in the wake of Passover — come see this sense of cultural Judaism manifested in art. Presented in conjunction with Penn’s Jewish Studies Department, Professor Christine Poggi will moderate a discussion of the Jewish symbolism and imagery present in Kalman’s work, much of which is funny, irreverent and moving.
