ART Elephant Revival They’re usually classified as a folk group, but Elephant Revival brings a lot of different musical strains into their eclectic sound. The sheer list of instruments played by lead singers Bonnie Paine and Charlie Rose—including stompboard, washboard, djembe, singing saw, pedal steel, banjo, cello, trumpet and trombone—testifies to this diversity. It’s all tied together by the group’s soulful, evocative songs. Natalie Prass Singer-songwriter Natalie Prass first impresses with her crystal-clear voice, so melodically pure you’d think it was wearing a promise ring, but it would only be a voice without her mellow, heartfelt songs. She’s based out of Nashville, and while there’s not much of a direct country feel to her music, it definitely has a down-home groove thatfeels “Southern”.
Raul Gonzalez III: Reglas
Through Dec. 13
Boston University Art Gallery
855 Comm. Ave., Boston
Free, 617-353-3329
www.bu.edu/art
Saturday through Dec. 20
Boston Cyberarts Gallery
141 Green St., Cambridge
Free, 617-522-6710
www.bostoncyberarts.org
Who Would Be King
Thursday through Nov. 22
Oberon
2 Arrow St., Cambridge
$25-$35, 617-547-8300
www.americarepertorytheater.org
Friday through Nov. 21
First Church of Boston
66 Marlborough St., Boston
Donation, info@hubtheatreboston.org
www.hubtheatreboston.org
Boston Christmas Festival
Friday through Sunday
World Trade Center
200 Seaport Blvd.
$15, 617-742-3973
www.bostonchristmasfestival.com
Through November 16
Various locations
Boston area
Prices vary, 617-244-9899
www.bjff.org
Friday, Sunday and Monday
Brattle Theater
40 Brattle St., Cambridge
$9-$11, 617-876-6837
www.brattlefilm.org
Rainn Wilson
Wednesday, 7:30 p.m.
The Wilbur Theater
246 Tremont St., Boston
$39, 800-745-3000
www.ticketmaster.com
Friday and Saturday
Urbanity Dance
1180 Washington St., Boston
$29, 617-572-3727
www.urbanitydance.org
Saturday and Sunday
Cutler Majestic Theater
219 Tremont St., Boston
$40-$79, 617-876-4275
www.worldmusic.org
Saturday, 8 p.m.
808 Gallery
808 Comm. Ave., Boston
$15-$30, 800-838-3006
www.brownpapertickets.com
Thursday and Friday
Scullers
400 Soldiers Field Rd., Boston
$35-$75, 866-777-8932
www.ticketweb.com
Thursday through Saturday
Various Locations
Allston/Cambridge
$13-$25
www.bostonhassle.com
Friday, 9 p.m.
The Sinclair
52 Church St., Cambridge
$15-$17, 18+, 800-745-3000
www.ticketmaster.com
Sunday, 8 p.m.
The Sinclair
52 Church St., Cambridge
$15-$17, 18+, 800-745-3000
www.ticketmaster.com
What to do in Boston this weekend: Nov. 6 – Nov. 8, 2015
Photo Courtesy of World Music/CRASHarts
The practice of Raul Gonzalez III, a Boston-based multimedia artist from Texas, blurs the lines between cartooning, illustration and fine art. Familiar images from popular culture and a street artist’s sensibility are obvious, but there’s something more mysterious going on here than simply a social commentary or caricature. This show focuses on a site-specific wall drawing and new works on paper.
Katherine Behar: E-Waste
A science fiction scenario in which our USB devices continue to work after we’re all gone inspired this installation by Brooklyn-based artist Katherine Behar. The viewer is in the place of an archaeologist, having just dug up these strange, beeping, whirring fossils that can’t seem to connect to Spotify. In another section, the artist imagines her own body swelling with data.
THEATER
This original musical from Liars and Believers takes us into a kingdom populated by clowns, where power struggles are just as ruthless as in the non-clown universe, but for the presence of rubber chickens. The company promises a production that “swings from absurd buffoonery to high tragedy, with kinetic physicality, silliness, swords and live electronica music.” What more could you ask?
The Love of the Nightingale
Hub Theater Company presents this play by Wertenbaker Nightingale, an adaptation of the Greek myth of Tereus. The central act of this myth is pretty gruesome, but let’s just say it connects vividly with the contemporary feminist discourse on our alleged “rape culture” and the silencing of victims, making it an ancient tale with an unfortunately timely resonance.
SHOPPING
Too early? Maybe, but face it, you know you’re going to wake up tomorrow and suddenly it’ll be December 24th. Then again, you might be the kind of person for whom Christmas season never comes early enough. In that case, this craft fair, with over 300 artisans selling their wares (and edibles) direct, plus the signature gingerbread house competition, will be seventh heaven.
MOVIES
Boston Jewish Film Festival
The Boston Jewish Film Festival returns with a selection of mostly new films from across the Jewish diaspora. Some explore the past, some the present, some profile great figures like Isaac Bashevis Singer, others tell stories of everyday contemporary lives. There’s even a documentary on the struggles of Germans who happen to have the unfortunate surname “Hitler.”
Goodfellas
Brattle Theater screens this new digital restoration of Martin Scorsese’s 1990 mafia masterpiece. Henry Hill’s transformation from naive newbie to paranoid, in-over-his-head trainwreck would be fascinating enough, but add in the alternately comedic and frightening performances from Robert De Niro and Joe Pesci and Scorsese’s masterful shooting and it’s easy to understand why this film remains so revered in the crime genre.
BOOKS
He’ll always be Dwight Schrute to fans of “The Office,” but Rainn Wilson is too clever to rest on those laurels. His post-“Office” work has focused on a media and production company called “SoulPancake” that aims to be both inspiring and entertaining. At this appearance he’ll discuss his memoir “Bassoon King”, which charts his progress from high school nerd to sitcom scene-stealer.
DANCE
Neruda’s Book of Questions: An Exploration Through Music and Dance
For their fall show, Urbanity Dance has created a “Choose Your Own Adventure” experience for the audience, based on South American poet Pablo Nerdua’s “The Book of Questions,” which consists of a series of weird unanswerable questions, some of them funny, some absurd, some strange and evocative. You’ll be led from Urbanity’s studio to a different location for the performance.
Lizt Alfonso Dance Cuba
Cuban choreographer Lizt Alfonso presents her show “Cuba Vibra,” a sort of mixtape of her native land’s dance traditions as they’ve developed over the last half-century, including cha-cha-cha, mambo, rumba, conga and bolero, all presented in a high-energy, theatrical style. Founded in 1991, the group has performed across the world, earning honors and accolades.
MUSIC
Briddes World
Lorelei Ensemble will test the theory that everything is better when you “put a bird on it” with this concert of reconstructed and brand new medieval/Renaissance music—“bridde” is a Middle English spelling of “bird”, and the program includes birdsong from John Luther Adams’ “Canticles of the Holy Wind.” A second performance takes place Sunday afternoon at Marsh Chapel.
Acoustic Alchemy
With their sonically diverse, complex interlocking acoustic guitar style, British guitarists Simon James and Nick Webb found an enduring niche in the instrumental music world — so enduring, in fact, that Acoustic Alchemy has outlived their involvement. James quit early in the game, and Webb passed away in 1998. James’ replacement, Greg Carmichael, brought in Miles Gilderdale, and they’re still sailin’ smooth today.
Boston Hassle Fest
Boston’s premiere annual underground music festival is loaded to the gills in 2015. The legendary San Francisco band Flipper will appear, as well as New Jersey guitar heroes Screaming Females, and local favorites like Pile, Guerilla Toss and Free Pizza. Shows take place at the Brighton Music Hall, the Cambridge Elks Lodge and Out of the Blue Too Art Gallery.
