Mountain Views News          Saturday, February 27, 2016

12

ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT

Mountain Views-News Saturday, February 27, 2016 

On the Marquee: Notes from the Sierra Madre Playhouse


SEAN’S SHAMELESS 

REVIEWS:

SONGS YOU NEED TO HEAR 

By Sean Kayden

BUGS AND ANIMALS AND TEA, OH MY!

By Artistic Director, Christian Lebano

We’ve loaded in the set for Charlotte’s Web and 
the cast will start working on it this weekend. The 
Director, Gary Lamb, and the Set Designer, Keiko 
Moreno, have created a visually arresting, flexible, 
barn-yard jungle gym. When Gary was describing 
to me what he wanted, he said that he hoped that 
kids would want to climb up on to the stage and 
play on the set. They have achieved that. It does 
all it has to in being the various settings needed 
to tell the story, evoking barns and barnyards, and 
the county fair while being playful and calling on 
kids (and grown-ups) to use their imaginations. I 
can’t wait to see it under lights. 

 The lobby is being transformed under the 
marvelous curating skills of Diane Seigel with the 
help of Emily Hopfauf and Vicky Aguilar. Anyone 
who has seen their work on our previous shows 
know that the lobby will be a fun and interactive 
experience – this time age-appropriate for our 
young patrons. Diane has been working with 
Joanne McGee-Lamb on the special events that 
will support our Sunday shows. All activities are 
free and start at 1:15 pm in front of the Playhouse 
except the Tea. Here is what you can plan on:

March 20: Charlotte’s Fiber Art Party

 Help us build a web for Charlotte.

 March 27: Farm-Fresh Egg Hunt

 Come help us find all of Goose and Gander’s 
eggs!

 April 3: Wilbur’s Denim and 
Daisy Tea (fee to participate)

at Tea-Neer Tea House 

142 West Sierra Madre Blvd. 

1:00 pm 

 Reservations through Tea-Neer 

(626) 355-3999

 April 10: Fern’s Farm Animals

 Come meet some of the “real” animals 
depicted in the show.

 April 17: Fern’s Farm Animals

More information about all of these events 
and more can be found on our website: 
SierraMadrePlayhouse.org

 Charlotte’s Web opens to the public on March 11 
and 12 (we have two different casts and each have 
their own Opening Night.) The show will play on 
matinees at 2:30 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays 
except on March 13 during The Wistaria Festival. 
Tickets are now on sale for Charlotte’s Web – it 
is going to be terrific fun – hope to see you there 
with (or without!) your kids and grandkids. Please 
visit our website at or call Mary at 626.355.4318 to 
purchase tickets. 


James Supercave – “Whatever You Want” - James 
Supercave is not a solo act with a pseudo last name. 
These Echo Park natives are indie psych-poppers that 
just dropped their debut LP, “Strange Things.” It’s an 
album that comes off the beaten path with strange 
tendencies and psychedelic vibes. The newcomers offer 
a fresh sound within a subgenre becoming increasing 
popular these days. One of their tracks, “Whatever 
You Want” has all the right sensations to make you 
feel weird again. There’s just something unique about 
the band’s textures, layers, and ambiances that give 
them the edge over their peers. The mix of pop and 
glam are evident as well as Joaquin Pastor’s helium 
vocals. James Supercave is like that super cool band 
no one knows about, but that may not be for much 
longer. 

Japanese Breakfast – “In Heaven” - Michelle Zauner 
started Japanese Breakfast as solo endeavor in response 
to creative bankruptcy with her other band, Little Big 
League. Her first single under this new moniker is 
“In Heaven.” Zauner’s elegiac vocals are matched by 
instrumental beauty of the song. It’s a somber affair 
of insurmountable loss that becomes fragile just on 
the edges of this indelible tune. The lush “In Heaven” 
is relatively calm in delivery and Zauner’s vocals are 
rather angelic. I have high hopes for her debut LP, 
“Psychopomp” which will be out on April 1st. 

Nothing But Thieves – “If I Get High” – “If I Get 
High” is one of few ballads found on the band’s debut 
self/titled record. It’s also the group’s latest single and 
it’s a beautiful, chills-worthy endeavor. Conor Mason’s 
voice may be the best in rock music right now. I’m 
not saying this is the best rock band of 2016, but those 
vocals are a mighty weapon. It’s reminiscent of the 
late Jeff Buckley. There is deep sensitivity to it and it’s 
something to be in awe of. The song takes a grasp on 
to the listener and emotionally rattles them. This is a 
song, let alone a band, meant to be played in front of a 
huge, stadium-filled audience. It’s not a matter of how, 
but when for these new school rock kings. 

Sego – “Stars” – This new tune comes off the band’s 
forthcoming debut LP, “Once Was Lost Now Just 
Hanging Around” next week. The warm jam features 
the band taking a break from relatively faster paced, 
wilder material with a subtly found inside hazy guitars 
and reflective storytelling. There’s a hopefulness 
sound to be found with ethereal layers forming into a 
rich, dynamic indie rock track. It also proves that Sego 
is beyond one-note as this latest outing represents 
something quite different than previous releases. 
While there other tracks cater more to a slacker/
stoner sound, “Stars” really shines as something more 
grounded and genuine. 

Night Moves – “Carl Segan” - The Minneapolis-based 
band is finally back after nearly 4 years with their 
second single, “Carl Sagan.” The group’s first record 
had more of a poppy 70s vibe and this one takes the 
rock sounds of 70s and 80s and places them both 
into this new awesome jam. Their music continues to 
recall the likes of Steely Dan, The Band, and Fleetwood 
Mac. While these young guys were born well beyond 
the time of the abovementioned bands, their sound 
is clearly inspired by them. Singer and guitarist John 
Pelant and bassist Micky Alfano showcase a warm and 
vintage feel to the work that conjures up the golden 
days of 70’s rock. Much more than a nostalgic knockoff 
though, a track like “Carl Sagan” is instead ageless, 
resuscitated through the pair’s graceful songcraft, and 
singer John Pelant’s excellent vocal abilities. Innocent 
and youthful, Pelant appears to possess an iconic voice 
that resembles those of the past. Night Moves second 
LP, “Pennied Days” is due out March 25th.

Jeff’s Book Pics By Jeff Brown

Dancing Naked --In Fuzzy Red Slippers 
by Carmen Richardson Rutlen 

This book isn’t about life, but about living 
life. You’ll visit Tobago on a warm summer 
evening, and Venice at twilight. It isn’t a travel 
book in the usual sense, but does 
explore interesting landscapes 
of the mind and heart. It tells of 
dancing naked in the morning 
and being late for work. It 
addresses divorce and the 
accompanying sorrows and joys. 
It talks of a homeless woman 
named Joan and the death of a 
basset hound named Rufus. It 
speaks of a near-love experience, 
and gives instructions on what to 
do with an extra half-hour you 
find lying on the ground.


Infinite Jest by David Foster 
Wallace

A mind-altering comedy about 
the Pursuit of Happiness in 
America set in an addicts’ halfway 
house and a tennis academy, and 
featuring the most endearingly 
screwed-up family to come along 
in recent fiction, Infinite Jest 
explores essential questions about 
what entertainment is and why 
it has come to so dominate our 
lives; about how our desire for 
entertainment affects our need 
to connect with other people; 
and about what the pleasures we 
choose say about who we are. 
Equal parts philosophical quest 
and screwball comedy, Infinite 
Jest bends every rule of fiction 
without sacrificing for a moment 
its own entertainment value. It is an exuberant, 
uniquely American exploration of the passions 
that make us human - and one of those rare 
books that renew the idea of what a novel can 
do.


Modern Romance by Aziz Ansari, Eric 
Klinenberg

At some point, every one of us embarks on a 
journey to find love. We meet people, date, 
get into and out of relationships, all with the 
hope of finding someone with whom we share 
a deep connection. This seems standard now, 
but it’s wildly different from what people did 
even just decades ago. Single people today have 
more romantic options than at any point in 
human history. With technology, our abilities 
to connect with and sort through these options 
are staggering. So why are so 
many people frustrated?Some of 
our problems are unique to our 
time. “Why did this guy just text 
me an emoji of a pizza?” “Should 
I go out with this girl even though 
she listed Combos as one of her 
favorite snack foods? Combos?!” 
“My girlfriend just got a message 
from some dude named Nathan. 
Who’s Nathan? Did he just 
send her a photo of his penis? 
Should I check just to be sure?” 
But the transformation of our 
romantic lives can’t be explained 
by technology alone. In a short 
period of time, the whole culture 
of finding love has changed 
dramatically. A few decades ago, 
people would find a decent person 
who lived in their neighborhood. 
Their families would meet and, 
after deciding neither party 
seemed like a murderer, they 
would get married and soon have 
a kid, all by the time they were 
twenty-four. Today, people marry 
later than ever and spend years of 
their lives on a quest to find the 
perfect person, a soul mate.For 
years, Ansari has been aiming his 
comic insight at modern romance, 
but for Modern Romance, the 
book, he decided he needed to take 
things to another level. He teamed 
up with NYU sociologist Eric 
Klinenberg and designed a massive research 
project, including hundreds of interviews and 
focus groups conducted everywhere from Tokyo 
to Buenos Aires to Wichita. They analyzed 
behavioral data and surveys and created their 
own online research forum on Reddit, which 
drew thousands of messages. They enlisted the 
world’s leading social scientists. The result is 
unlike any social science or humor book we’ve 
seen before. Ansari combines his irreverent 
humor with cutting-edge social science to give 
us an unforgettable tour of our new romantic 
world.


Jeff’s History Corner By Jeff Brown

HISTORY OF SOME EXPRESSIONS


TURN A BLIND EYE -Meaning: To ignore situations, 
facts, or reality.Origin: The British Naval hero, Admiral 
Horatio Nelson, had one blind eye. Once when the British 
forces signaled for him to stop attacking a fleet of Danish 
ships, he held up a telescope to his blind eye and said, “I 
do not see the signal.” He attacked, nevertheless, and was 
victoriouS

 ‘A SHOT OF WHISKEY’ - In the old west a .45 
cartridge for a six-gun cost 12 cents, so did a glass of 
whiskey. If a cowhand was low on cash he would often 
give the bartender a cartridge in exchange for a drink. This 
became known as a “shot” of whiskey.

 BOUGHT THE FARM - This is synonymous with 
dying. During WW1 soldiers were given life insurance 
policies worth $5,000. This was about the price of an 
average farm so if you died you “bought the farm” for your 
survivors.

 IRON CLAD CONTRACT - This came about from 
the ironclad ships of the Civil War. It meant something so 
strong it could not be broken.

 RIFF RAFF - The Mississippi River was the main 
way of traveling from north to south. Riverboats carried 
passengers and freight but they were expensive so most 
people used rafts. Everything had the right of way over rafts 
which were considered cheap. The steering oar on the rafts 
was called a “riff” and this transposed into riff-raff, meaning 
low class.

 COBWEB - The Old English word for “spider” was 
“cob”.

 SLEEP TIGHT- Early beds were made with a wooden 
frame. Ropes were tied across the frame in a criss-cross 
pattern. A straw mattress was then put on top of the ropes. 
Over time the ropes stretched, causing the bed to sag. The 
owner would then tighten the ropes to get a better night’s 
sleep.

 OVER A BARREL - In the days before CPR a drowning 
victim would be placed face down over a barrel and the 
barrel would be rolled back and forth in an effort to empty 
the lungs of water. It was rarely effective. If you are over a 
barrel you are in deep trouble.

 HOGWASH - Steamboats carried both people and 
animals. Since pigs smelled so bad they would be washed 
before being put on board. The mud and other filth that 
was washed off was considered useless “hog wash”.

 CURFEW - The word “curfew” comes from the French 
phrase “couvre-feu”, which means “cover the fire”. It 
was used to describe the time of blowing out all lamps 
and candles. It was later adopted into Middle English as 
“curfeu” which later became the modern “curfew”. In the 
early American colonies homes had no real fireplaces so a 
fire was built in the center of the room. In order to make 
sure a fire did not get out of control during the night it was 
required that, by an agreed upon time, all fires would be 
covered with a clay pot called-a “curfew”.

 HOT OFF THE PRESS - As the paper goes through 
the rotary printing press friction causes it to heat up. 
Therefore, if you grab the paper right off the press it’s hot. 
The expression means to get immediate information.

 GO THE WHOLE NINE YARDS - Meaning: To 
try your best at something.Origin: During World War 
II, the fighter pilots were equipped with nine yards of 
ammunition. When they ran out, it meant that they had 
tried their best at fighting off the target with the entirety of 
their ammunition.

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