Arts DEVO

Summerness It’s Wednesday morning, the week after Chico State’s graduation. The view outside my office window is the entrance to Bidwell Park. The forecast for the next few days is 90-plus degrees. Memorial Day weekend is so close I can smell the chicken fat blistering on the grill.

Summer begins right now.

I am stressed enough trying to bang out a column at the last minute, a couple of days past deadline, but with the added call of Chico Summer—that glorious five months from Memorial Day weekend through Halloween or so—it’s become an exercise in torture.

First three days I am beyond stoked at how the stars have aligned to pack summer’s opening weekend with good fun. In addition to some dirt-tending on the grounds of the DEVO compound—installing some toad-friendly environments for our new mosquito-and snail-eating friends—and more than one grilled meal, Mrs. DEVO and I will join some of the extended DEVO clan for a trip to the Silver Dollar Fair (May 22-26). On the checklist: setting fire to cash on the midway; eating something sweet that’s been deep-fried and something savory that’s been dipped in chocolate; and getting a front-row seat to the demolition derby (Monday, 2 p.m.).

And X-Men: Days of Future Past is opening this weekend! It’s been more than 30 years since I purchased a comic book, but I have a soft spot in my heart for the movie adaptations, especially the X-Men series. I was a comic nerd for only a couple of years or so, but I was lucky enough to come aboard just when the Uncanny X-Men was cycling through its two signature storylines—The Dark Phoenix Saga and Days of Future Past (1980-81)—and now Hollywood is getting to the time-traveling robots vs. mutants classic.

Summer of music My mind is on music this summer. I want to make music. I want to hear the music you are making (next week: the summer of music continues with a look at new local albums and new—and soon-to-arrive—local bands). And, as always, I want to dive into all the cool summer jams.

It’s early in the season, so I’ve only settled on a few. And so far I’ve discovered that, unless it’s in the context of the beautiful mess that is Die Antwoord, I’m not digging on hardly any electronic music (not that I was ever a rabid fan). The ubiquitous “unh, unh, unh” is wearing on me (at the gym, at the grocery store, at the bar), and I am hoping that the discofication of the genre will reach its peak this year so that the underground can reclaim what’s left of its life energy.

Here’s what I’m hearing so far:

• “Divisionary (Do the Right Thing) by Ages and Ages and “Stay With Me” by Sam Smith: Two slow sing-alongs for the long summer.

• “Hymn to the Pillory” by Nothing: Like My Bloody Valentine playing The Jesus and Mary Chain’s guitars.

• Dad Claps at the Mom Prom—Sun Club: The whole EP is pure summer—noisy and fun.

• “Oxygen” by Swans: Hot, brutal repetition.

• “Interference Fits” by Perfect Pussy: This is your new punk rock. Good lord!

• “Cookie Thumper” by Die Antwoord: It’s just nasty, in every way.