Arts DEVO

The two sides of Arts DEVO

There are two playlists on my iPod right now: “He’s an Indie Rocker” and “Dance Party.” These are permanent lists, with new (and old) songs constantly being added. Even though I’ll rotate in other playlists of wildly varying genres depending on my mood at any given time of the year, those two lists are my mainstays and always have been, even before MP3s, when the two sides of my musical brain were scrambled throughout piles of mix CDs (and cassettes!) scattered across my desk and melting away in my glove box.

Scroll through those two digital catalogs and you’ll get a pretty accurate picture of me. “Dance Party” covers every tune that I’ve shaken my booty to since junior high—from Michael, Prince and early break-dancing hits (“Jam on it, jam on it, jam on and on-on-and-on it”) to my current fave, LMFAO’s “Party Rock Anthem.” (BTW, even though I would probably be mistaken for a child molester if I showed up, I would love to go dance like a teenage girl at JMAX’s Ke$ha and LMFAO show this Tuesday, Sept. 13, at the UC Davis Pavilion.)

“He’s an Indie Rocker” is probably more predictable, spanning a tighter timeframe, ending with current faves like Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend, and reaching back in time to the nostalgic ’90s when Chavez and Archers of Loaf ruled the indie world. (BTW, last Saturday, I was not mistaken for a child molester—in fact I wasn’t close to being the oldest in attendance— at the Great American Music Hall, where a couple of Chico Greenfields and Mrs. DEVO joined me in having faces blown off and spirits lifted at the truly awesome Archers reunion show.)

De Paris Avec Picasso

Well he was only 5-foot-3, but girls could not resist his stare/ Pablo Picasso never got called an asshole—Jonathan Richman, “Pablo Picasso”

Oh yeah … and Picasso! As if a night with the friends and the Archers wasn’t enough, my crew woke up Sunday morning over giant bowls of coffee and pastries at La Boulange, before heading to Golden Gate Park to get close to 100 or so Picassos. While the Musée National Picasso in Paris is being renovated its collection is being shared with the world at exhibitions like the one currently at the De Young (through Oct. 10). The exhibit covers a lot of ground, with works spanning 70 years of his life and every style and era he pioneered along the way—from blue-period works (like the dark one-eyed woman in “La Celestina”); to my favorites, the surreal (the rounded shapes in large paintings like “La Lecture” and massive bronze heads with exaggerated probiscises); all the way up to the vibrant large works he was still painting into his late 80s/early 90s.

DEVOtions

• Funny TV: The Blue Room’s Comedy on the Couch host John Ross and some of his comedy buddies (Ray Molina from Sacramento and Jesse Fernandez from Berkeley) are filming an audition tape to submit to Comedy Central’s Fresh Faces this Saturday, Sept. 10, 8 p.m., at RayRay Gallery. Help the guys out by filling the venue with your laughing spirit.

•American Idol worship: Monday, Sept. 12, 6:30 p.m., at the El Rey Theatre, American Idol finalist Jason Castro will be performing a benefit concert for Orphan Care International, a Chico-based group raising money for an orphanage in Zambia. Get tix at www.ticketweb.com. Go support a good cause. Just don’t lose yourself in his baby blue eyes.