Luck ‘n’ Stuff
Depending on how you slice it, this Saturday will probably be either a day of cultural pride—a time to feel as Irish as possible and enjoy it—or the white person's Cinco de Mayo—a slightly arbitrary date on the calendar used as an excuse to get wasted. Here are some ideas for both camps.
For those of the former class, who want to enjoy some of the more traditional stuff that Ireland has to offer, on Friday March 16, head straight over to the TGIF Organ Recital (5:30 pm. Free. First Presbyterian Church, 208 Grant Ave., 982-8544). Jan Worden-Lackey plays traditional arrangements and variations on Celtic tunes.
Saturday March 17 is St. Patrick's Day itself, and you can continue the cultural classiness with Schola Cantorum's St. Patrick's Day concert, in which the etherial choir performs traditional songs you know ("Danny Boy"—don't mind us while we openly weep) and ones you may not ("Síuil a Rúin," anyone?). Anyway, it goes down at the Loretto Chapel (6 pm. $15-$20. 207 Old Santa Fe Trail; tickets at schola-sf.org). Schola's concerts sell out, so get on it fast. You can also catch a performance by Belisama Irish Dance (5 pm. $15-$20. James A Little Theatre, 1060 Cerrillos Road, 476-6429).
We can be thankful we don't live somewhere like Boston or New York City, where drunkards in green take over entire city blocks—but, that being said, if you want to be festive, ain't nobody stopping you as long as you're not a jerk about it (don't drive, and tip your bartenders well). Here's a few places to find themed music and occasional green beer:
In a Second Street Brewery tradition, the Albuquerque and Four Corners Pipe and Drum Band hits up the original location (5 pm. Free. 1814 Second St., 982-3030) complete with bagpipes. At Duel Brewing, catch Billy Miles Brooke's Irish drinking songs followed by the jaunty Celtic-influenced stylings of Edmund Gorman & Two Left Shoes (5:30 pm. Free. 1228 Parkway Drive, 474-5301). Santa Fe's favorite Broadway star, David Geist, celebrates his birthday at the Geist Cabaret at Pranzo (6 pm. $2. 540 Montezuma Ave., 984-2645), and we're willing to wager he'll whip out some Irish-inspired tunes. There's a wear-your-greens edition of Trash Disco with DJ Oona at the Mine Shaft (8 pm. Free. 2846 Hwy. 14, Madrid, 473-0743), and Boxcar's got all the green beer you could ever want along with tunes from DJ D-Monic and with special appearances by the Order of the Thistle Pipes & Drums (10 pm. Free. 530 S Guadalupe St., 988-7222).
In conclusion: Be safe and have fun. And if you're more into staying home with a good book, SFR's Picks for literature this week are Seamus Heaney and Eavan Boland. Éireannach go brách, y'all. (Charlotte Jusinski)
A Thousand Words
Sama Alshaibi
When East of West gallery opened last year, owner-curator LE Brown told SFR that she didn't "place too much emphasis on borders because they're kind of arbitrary." That ethos continues today with constantly rotating shows, a lending library and, as of this week, a lecture on Middle Eastern photographers that Brown previously toured at American universities. "It's an overview of some of the more prevalent Middle Eastern photographers," Brown says. "There isn't much representation of artists from this community in our community—to help diversify, we need to make the information more accessible." (Alex De Vore)
Contemporary Middle Eastern Photographers:
6:30 pm Thursday March 15. Free.
East of West,
2351 Fox Road, Ste. 600.
Stars
Courtesy Adobe Rose
Constellations, the critically acclaimed and immensely sophisticated two-person play by British playwright Nick Payne, explores through quantum mechanics and theories of multiverses everything that could have happened when two nerds (a beekeeper and a cosmologist) fall in love. "It's an insanely magical ride that punches you in the gut," actress Alexandra Renzo says. "It's beautifully sophisticated and smart and witty and heartfelt and gut-wrenching. … It's a rollercoaster. You don't realize the ride that you're on until the end, and you have a chance to take a breath, and you're unbelievably impacted." We'd even venture to say that the show, in which Renzo is joined by actor Scott Harrison, could well be The Show To See this spring in Santa Fe. (CJ)
7:30 pm Thursday-Saturday March 15-17; 3 pm Sunday March 18. Through April 1. $15-$25.
Adobe Rose Theatre,
1213 Parkway Drive,
629-8688.
Sheer Poetry
Courtesy ViVo Contemporary
For the sixth year running, Canyon Road's ViVO Contemporary matched visual artists with local poets for its Giving Voice to Image series, an event that challenges wordsmiths to create poems based on artworks. According to ViVO's Barrie Brown, both sides of the work tend to evolve during the process, and the show also produces a catalog (more of a book really) that highlights the 11 collaborative duos. "There are just so many poetry lovers in Santa Fe," Brown says. "There's always such a great response from the community." The visual component opens this Friday with readings scheduled later in the month. (ADV)
Giving Voice to Image 6 Opening:
5 pm Friday March 16. Free. Through May 15.
ViVO Contemporary,
725 Canyon Road,
982-1320.
