Arts DEVO

For the Glorious
During the holidays last year, Arts DEVO made a promise to himself that he would finally go experience Chico State School of the Arts’ annual holiday music program, Glorious Sound of the Season. It’s the same promise I’ve been making for the past few years, but this past Saturday I finally made good. The show is a fundraiser for music scholarships, and it features every one of Chico State’s music and theater performance groups playing all over Harlen Adams Theatre—on the stage, in front of the stage and at different stations along the aisles.

And it was great! The perfect way to experience holiday music: as the Low Brass Choir faded out from the aisle of one side of the theater, the island sounds of the Wavy Leis (uke, steel drum, vocals and hula dancer) would fade in from the main stage. The whole evening was enjoyable, but I did have a few favorite acts—the wonderful Sax Quartet, the brash and energetic Chico Jazz Collective and all the numbers featuring David Rothe on the Centennial Organ. For me though, the two most fun performances were accordion duo Kathy Eckart and David Vallelunga and their passionate dancing-carols medley, and Chico State low-brass instructor (and Paradise Symphony conductor) Lloyd Roby hiding in the shadows of the auditorium playing Øystein Baadsvik’s strange “Fnugg” on tuba—blowing, singing, tapping and even beatboxing into his horn. So awesome.

After leaving the theater with Mrs. DEVO and our next-door neighbors, and adding a round of delicious fancy drinks from The Argus to our bloodstreams, it was impossible to not be in the holiday spirit as we chatted and strolled back to the car through downtown Chico on a frozen and gorgeous December night.

Holiday DEVOtions
As 2013 begins to melt its way down the frozen drain, Chico is experiencing its usual bottleneck of fun, interesting and warm entertainment (including Chikoko’s annual three-day weekend of creative insanity—see This Week, page 31.) to keep neighbors in the same room together for the holidays.

• Friday, Dec. 13, 9 p.m.: Broken Rodeo. The twangy duo is now a trio with the addition of songsmith Garrett Gray, and they’re playing with OG AD pal Donald (“Der Schwan”) Beaman at The Maltese.

• Saturday, Dec. 14, 5:30 p.m.: A Muslim Christmas, at 1078 Gallery. Local singer-songwriter Aamir Malik presents his Chico Arts Commission mini-grant-funded short film about a Muslim who sings a song called “Muslims Love Jesus, Too” while attending a Christmas party.

• Sunday, Dec. 15, 3 p.m.: Magnolia Gift & Garden anniversary. Celebrate the nursery’s five years with an afternoon performance by The Yule Logs.

• Season of The Pageant: The Pageant Theatre has already exceeded its $51,000 crowdfunding goal for its new digital-projection system, and with the many benefits happening over the next couple of weeks, it’s likely they’ll raise enough extra dough to start updating the theater’s sound system and seating as well. In addition to the Jonathan Richman show that just happened (Dec. 11), there’s Rogue Theatre’s encore presentation of The Weir, the ghost story in an Irish bar that will be presented in Chico’s “Irish” bar, Duffy’s Tavern (Dec. 15, 7 p.m.); Winchester Goose’s movie-poster-art auction (Dec. 19, 6 p.m.); and the Bad Santa Xmas Getdown Party, an all-day music/variety show at the DownLo (Dec. 22, 4 p.m.-close).

• Friday, Dec. 20, 8 p.m.: Christmas Miracle Telethon. The dudes in Bogg bring together a variety of actors and musicians—Loki Miller, Lisa Valentine, Matt Hammons, Aubrey Debauchery, and more—for an eclectic night of music, improv and sketch comedy at the 1078 Gallery.

• Saturday, Dec. 21, 8 p.m.: Radiohead vs. Queen vs. Carole King. Two cover nights go head-to-head on the Saturday before Christmas: At Café Coda, more than 20 local acts delve into Radiohead’s catalog, and at the same time at the DownLo, the Living Karaoke Band provides the backing band for a rotating cast of vocalists taking turns singing Queen and King songs.

• Dec. 20-22, 7:30 p.m.: Twilight Zone Live! Craig Blamer’s beloved Late Nite staple is back at the Blue Room, for three showings.