Courtesy of Bobbie Ferrell
We Don’t Like February
Or, how to escape romance related events
Picture this: You’re browsing at the Santa Fe Public Library Southside Branch. You’ve finally found the book you want, free of weird stains, and you suddenly realize such a delightful book would be better served with a cat or two nearby, just asking to be petted. We’ve been there. Who hasn’t? Yet there’s no cat to be found because your partner is selfishly allergic or your overpriced apartment unit wants a $600 pet fee. You quietly sigh, turn to leave and embrace your sorrow—and there’s a cat facing you upon the library walls. Not just any artistic rendering of a cat, but one with a unique folk art style. It stuns you into silence. So wholesome, so charming, so cat-like. Yes, you’ve found your book. But perhaps more importantly, you’ve found your reading cat, however two-dimensional they may be. Check out Bobbie Ferrell’s Come See the Cats this week. You’ll feel better, trust us, and Ferrell describes it as “art with a smile for a reason.”
But hey, we get it. Maybe you’re not a cat person. Maybe you’re just an artsy soul, drifting from one exhibit to the next. If so, get your eyes on Aurelia Gallery’s new show Transforming the Desert, where artist Christa Stephens takes our arid landscape and transforms it into geometrical patterns that will have no (or at least very few) heart patterns throughout the work. You can experience color outside of pink, red and white during the Valentine’s Day sadsies. Imagine!
If you need a pre-holiday rush before going into hiding this weekend, we’ll make one heart-themed exception: The Blackhearts Social Club is hosting a handful of bands at The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing. This 21+ show is the head-banging metal angst you probably need, and you can assume there will be limited kissy faces and candlelight dinners and overpriced drinks. Bands like The Illegal Aliens and The Blackout Pictures will likely shred, as the kids say, and it’ll remind you of dark, cool, anti-establishment aesthetics.
Plus, if you’re planning to hide away all weekend and only enter the great outdoors when the coast is clear, check out SITE Santa Fe’s Kaki King show. King is a champ at the guitar. Actually, scratch that—she’s a Golden Globe-nominated master, and you’ve probably heard her contributions to films like August Rush and Into the Wild. She’s also got nine (!) studio albums for you to vibe to as you wait.
Whether it be cats, geometric patterns, lovely guitar madness or heavy metaling, rest assured there are options to keep you safe and sound from those pesky rosey-cheeks and merriments that assault us every mid-February. Treasures exist should you take the quest, my friends. (Riley Gardner)
Come See the Cats Opening: 4-6 pm Friday, Feb. 11. Free. Santa Fe Public Library Southside Branch, 6599 Jaguar Drive, (505) 955-2820
Transforming the Desert: 11 am-5 pm Monday-Friday; noon-5 pm Saturday and Sunday. Free. Aurelia Gallery, 414 Canyon Road, (505) 501-2915
Black Hearts Social Club: 7 pm Friday, Feb. 11. $10. The Bridge at Santa Fe Brewing Co., 37 Fire Place, (505) 557-6182
Kaki King: 7 pm Tuesday, Feb. 15. $30. SITE Santa Fe, 1606 Paseo De Peralta, (505) 989-1199
Public Domain
That Old Pagey Smell
Know what’s rarely disappointing? Book sales. Whether it be that magical Scholastic Book Fair from childhood, or the kind you just stumble upon in a public setting from which you leave with with arms full of adventures and facts, books are one of the few things on which we can always count to keep the mood up. Our friends from the Placitas Community Library and op.cit books host a $1-per-item sale outside op.cit’s DeVargas Center location this week. $1 per book, cassette, DVD, CD—you name it. But wait! If you come between 2 and 4 pm on Sunday with a bag, you can stuff it with any of the written or recorded goods for a mere $5. Imagine how beautiful your book shelf will look. Your casual acquaintances will be so impressed, and you can finally move those decorative plants somewhere else. (RG)
Love Your Library Book Sale: 10am-5pm Friday, Feb. 11 and Saturday, Feb. 12; noon-4 pm Sunday, Feb 13. Free, minus the books. op.cit books, Devargas Mall. 157 Paseo de Peralta. (505) 466-7323.
Courtesy Santa Fe Playhouse
Dancing for Life
Ria Thundercloud (Ho-Chunk Nation, Sandia Pueblo) is a force of nature. Not many of us can say we’ve performed in New York, the Czech Republic, Russia and beyond. Hell, not many of us can say we’ve ever left the country. Thundercloud was trained by many top Indigenous dance institutes, including Dancing Earth Creations and Raven Spirit Dance; she’s proficient in ballet, jazz, modern, tap and others, too. Thundercloud is probably far more talented than any of us, so get pumped on this upcoming performance in association with Southwestern Association of Indian Arts and the Santa Fe Playhouse. Thundercloud’s dance performance tells of Indigenous womanhood and survival through movement. Inspired by the tales and family histories of matriarchs, her showcase isn’t merely showing Indigenous women exist. Rather, it’ll be a reminder of resilience under occupation and oppression—something all of us need to be reminded about from time to time. (RG)
Ria Thundercloud: 6 pm and 8 pm Friday, Feb. 11. $18-$20. Santa Fe Playhouse, 142 E De Vargas St. (505) 988-4262
SFR File Photo
Sick Wheels, Bruh
Few institutions are as iconic to Santa Fe youths as Rockin’ Rollers. Don’t look away, young adults and older readers: Roller skating doesn’t have to be a leisure activity for middle school children. As an 18+ event, Love on Wheels is a combination of the physical love of a human and the metaphysical love of being alive. Stay with me—basically, stop by if you love to skate. Stop by if you wanna hear DJs Luca Lofi and Spinbot pumping up the place. Consider this a low-key way to spend the lovey-dovey weekend, during which, you can pretend you’re in the ‘80s, John Hughes is directing your actions via magical lighting cues and Molly Ringwald is calling you over from the other side of the place to advance the plot in some direction. Whether you’ve got nostalgia or not, get some spins in. (RG)
Love on Wheels: A Valentine’s Day Skate and Dance Celebration: 8 pm Saturday, Feb. 12. $10-$15. Rockin’ Rollers Event Arena, 2915 Agua Fría St., (505) 473-7755.
