Arts Devo

Early bird gets the best art The annual Art at the Matador fair is one of Arts DEVO’s favorite regular Chico events. Tons of local artists selling local art on an early spring weekend on the grounds of a weird mission-style motel where margaritas are being sold. Perfect! Over the course of the two-day event, the Matador Motel’s rooms are reserved for artists who turn them into individual galleries. And the palm tree-dotted courtyard is packed with booths as well as food trucks and a stage for live music. This year’s featured performers include the Lumininjas fire dance troupe, plus musical guests Red Dirt Bullies, Susan Schrader Quartet and more.

And since spring is as full as ever with community events, I’m reminding you about this one a week in advance so that you can plan accordingly. Mark your calendars: May 12, 4-9 p.m. and May 13, 11 a.m.-7 p.m.

Chico area music continues It’s a testament to the fertility of the local music scene that in this issue we have a review of Donald Beaman’s excellent new album, Duration (see In the Mix, page 30), plus mention of another new local release by one of the musicians from Beaman’s backing band, The Spirit Molecules (see the following sentence). Spirit Molecules bassist Kirt Lind has just dropped his latest electronic-flavored pop album, Invisible Ocean, and it’s super strange and super good. There are detours everywhere—from the thrilling, noisy interruptions throughout opener “Hollow” to the bizarre vocal manipulations of “Impossible”—but synth-rocker “Paralyzed” hits the reverb-y, Cure-ish sweet spot. Hear/download at kirtlind.bandcamp.com.

DEVOtions

• Twilight Zone Live: The Blue Room Theatre. presents a weekend run of two classic Twilight Zone episodes—“The Lonely” and “Nothing in the Dark”—each featuring a protagonist who is a prisoner of one kind or another. Shows Thursday-Saturday, May 4-6, 10:30 p.m., and Sunday, May 7, 2 p.m.

• David Lynch: The Art Life: Readers of this column have probably guessed that I’m tingly all over about the Pageant Theatre screening the new documentary about my greatest arts hero, David Lynch. It shows twice tonight, May 4, at 7 and 9 p.m. I feel almost as tingly as I do about the return of Twin Peaks in just 2 1/2 weeks. Here’s another blast from the past:

Bobby Briggs: Laura wanted to die.

Dr. Jacoby: How do you know that?

Bobby Briggs: Because she told me.

Dr. Jacoby: What else did she tell you? Did she tell you that there was no goodness in the world?

Bobby Briggs: She said people try to be good but they’re really sick and rotten, her most of all, and every time she tried to make the world a better place, something terrible came up inside her and pulled her back down into hell. Took her deeper and deeper into the blackest nightmare. Every time it got harder to go back up to the light.