4/29 Sax on the Hill
Treat your ears to the sounds of the KU saxophone quartets at 7:30 tonight. The free concert will take place at Swarthout Recital Hall in Murphy Hall, 1530 Naismith Dr., as presented by the School of Fine Arts. Master's student Kevin Gosa will direct Quartet Ill, while Vince Gnojek, professor of saxophone and director of the KU woodwinds division, will direct Saxophone Quartets I and II. Saxophone Quartet I recently won its fourth Down Beat award, presented by Down Beat magazine. The quartets will be playing a variety of music including Latin, jazz and classical numbers. For a special ditty, the group will drop into the lower register to perform a Tocatta Mechanique, which features two baritone saxophones and two bass saxophones. That's a lot of free sax.
4/30 Funky 'Noon
With summertime approaching, hearing some music for free on a nice day is hard to beat. It's also hard to beat when the group playing is a funk band. Student Union Activities holds free shows at noon on Fridays outside the Kansas Union as part of their Tunes at 'Noon program. This week, the featured band is The Yards. This group finished recording its second album with a horn section and will play some of the new songs for those who want to stop by, relax and check out the tunes.
5/1 The Best Things Come in Threes
Here's your to-do list for today.
1) It's time to smell a RAT and make some art, but not the kitty-treat kind of rat that spreads disease and eats cheese. This RAT is a politically orientated art group hosting a free art exhibit at Henry's Coffeehouse, 11 E. 8th St., at 7 p.m.
2) After Henry's, it's time to look at something off the wall. Try clothes and bodies, courtesy of The Campus Greens. The Greens are putting on a fashion show of six local designers to fight against sweatshop clothing. The presentation starts at 8 p.m. in the Lawrence Arts Center, 940 New Hampshire St. The cost is $3. Spinning the tunes for the models to move to is DJ Curtis McCoy.
3) It's the end of the night and it's time to dance. Those mysterious DJs, Q3, X9 and J8, are at it again with their socialist leaning Dance! Dance! Revolution at the Jackpot Saloon, 943 Massachusetts St. They play multi-media, multigrenre, super-sexy dance grooves including electrc, '80s and post-punk. It's an 18 and over party and costs $5, but you can get in for $3 if you're wearing red.
5/2 Gone Parkin'
If you like to spend sunny days outside at the park but you don't know where to go, check out the annual Art in the Park celebration at South Park from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. The fundraiser for the Lawrence Art Guild will feature about 80 artists and a multi-media collection. Music will be the key element of this day at the park. Performing for the event will be the Larryville Stompers, a mix of gospel and country. Later in the morning, Billy Ebeling and the Late for Dinner Band will play zydeco and blues to get you moving into the afternoon. The Bowery Dancers will present modern dance and Uncle Dirty Toes will play Celtic folk rock. Jazz band Glass Coffee Table will sing its tunes just before the Border Band wraps up the artsy festivity with its "rawhide rock." Everyone is welcome, so bring your dog, too.
where it's at this week's happenings
5/3 Fight Night
What did the starfish coach say to the octopus boxer? "Give him the ol' one-two-three-four-five-six-seven-eight...". Okay, enough joking around. Get ready to rumble at the Golden Gloves boxing tournament as the countdown to the finals begins. For a $5 general admission ticket, you can watch any of 60 fights in three different rings. The punching starts at 6:00 p.m. in Municipal Auditorium in Kansas City, 201 W. 13th St. And remember, watching people beat each other up does not mean you're a despicable human being, but you might not want to bring a date unless they've specifically mentioned being into blood sports.
5/4 Pretty in Purple
Dig out your purple attire and that raspberry beret 'cause the Prince of purple is coming to Kemper Arena, 1800 Genessee St., Kansas City, Mo. Out of the limelight for the past six years, Prince has just released his latest album Musicology, and he's embarking on a tour across the country. This tour will celebrate the 20th anniversary of Purple Rain, and will showcase Prince performing some of his classics for the last time. His new CD has been labeled by Rolling Stone magazine as appealing, focused and for almost anyone. Each song on the album is distinct and coherent. There are bluesy tunes such as, "On the Couch," and jams such as, "If Eye Was the Man in Ur Life." The concert begins at 7:30 p.m., and it promises to be a non-stop dance party covering everything from Prince's groundbreaking hits in the 80s to his spirited music of today. Tickets are still available and range from $49.50 to $76.
5/5 This Ain't No Pixie-dust Band
The Granada is a spot for locally and nationally known music-makers. Its ability to bring the goods never ceases. So if you enjoy unique, melodic heavy rock, then you won't want to miss Sevendust at the Granada, 1020 Massachusetts St., at 8 p.m. tonight. This Atlanta-based group just released its newest album called Seasons. Don't wake up tomorrow and realize that you did a bad thing and missed this show. Go tonight and bring all your friends because it's an all-ages performance. Tickets are $27 and can be purchased in advance at www.ticketmaster.com.
4.29.04 Jayplay
3