“COMMAND PERFORMANCE”

The Arthur Magazine Email BulletinNo. 0053September 26, 2006Website:http://www.arthurmag.comComments:editor@arthurmag.comThank you,1. ARTHUR NO. 24 (OCT 06) IS OUT NOW…featuring…* How Comets on Fire and Howlin’ Rain singer-guitarist ETHAN MILLER got his cosmic California yawp. By Trinie Dalton, with photography by Eden Batki.* DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF ON FASCISM, AMERICAN-STYLEThe propaganda state attempted in 1930s Europe has finally reached fruition here in the US.A. Now what do we do? Read this column online now:http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie/?p=1451* Making clothes for fall from new BUILT BY WENDY patterns. Photography by Glynnis McDaris, modeling by Nicole Lombardi.* LET ‘EM IN: An appreciation of ALL-AGES SHOWPart 1: A chat with MC5 manager/scholar/poet John Sinclair.By Jay Babcock, with artwork by Geoff McFetridge.* Chris Ziegler meets Los Angeles’ fabulous liberation rockers SHARP EASE, with photography by Molly Frances.* DAVE REEVES: Getting into it with Iran will be twice as fun as the party in Iraq! Just ask the British.* Scenes from a 1967 LOVE-IN AT LOS ANGELES’ GRIFFITH PARKPhotographed by the late Seymour Rosen. Text by Kristine McKenna.* COMICS: “Mulberry Season” by John Hankiewicz and  “Strings” (now in full color) by Pshaw.* The Center for Tactical Magic on CELL PHONES, BLUETOOTHS AND MAGIC SPELLS.* New Herbalist Molly Frances goes cuckoo for the ultimate natural brain food: NUTS* Byron Coley & Thurston Moore on dozens of new excitements from the planetary underground, including work by Upset the Rhythm, Leopard Leg, T.I.T.S., Marcia Bassett & Matthew Bower, Michael Bowman, Hello Trudi, Garry Davis, Dinosaurs, Baseball & Hopscotch, Glen or Glenda, Kapital Ink, Dumb Angel, Dream, Genders, the Mall, Sonic Transmission: Television, Tom Verlaine, Richard Hell, Astral Blessing, Vanishing Voice, Outlaw Con Bandana, Eric Amling, Trash Ritual, Government Alpha, Genius Females, Circuit Wound, Emily Maguire, Impractical Cockpit, Fat Worm of Error, Ian Svenonius, Chris Kraus, Suicide, New York Dolls, Patter, Robert Amft, C.M. von Hasswolff, Aritoma Nishihara, Galaxie 500, Damon & Naomi, Lifespan, The Devil’s Sword, So Wrong They’re Right, Sonic Outlaws, Golden Digest and Trash Talking.* C & D think as hard as they can about records by Akron/Family, Beach House, Mick Barr & Zach Hill, The Horrors, Primal Scream, The USA Is a Monster, Wolf Eyes, The Thermals, Trainwreck Riders, The Black Keys, Buffalo Killers and Graham Coxon, as well as a new Blind Faith dvd, a new Byrds box set, the Numero Group’s “Good God!: A Gospel Funk Hymnal” compilation and of course “Ed Rosenthal’s Big Buds 2007 Calendar.”Read this column online now:http://www.arthurmag.com/magpie/?p=1454Can’t find a copy? Can’t afford to mail-order a copy from us?Feel free to download the complete issue in PDF format in two parts:Part 1 (8.6mb)http://www.arthurmag.com/pdfs/Arthur24part1of2.pdfPart 2 (X.X mb)http://www.arthurmag.com/pdfs/Arthur24part2of2.pdfMore info:http://www.arthurmag.com2. COR! STOP THE PRESSES AND BUY YOUR PLANE TICKETS: ARTHUR NIGHTS UPGRADES ITS LOCATION TO HISTORIC PALACE THEATRE IN DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES. **HOUDINI** PERFORMED THERE FOR CRISSAKES!All of Arthur Nights is happening October 19-22, 2006 at the Palace Theatre (630 South Broadway).“The Downtown Palace Theatre, at 630 S Broadway, was built in 1911 as the third Los Angeles home of the Orpheum Vaudeville circuit. It was originally know as the “Orpheum” and is the oldest remaining Orpheum theatre in the country. Renamed the Palace Theatre in 1926, it became a silent movie house and later added sound.  “The intimate scale of the Palace Theatre in concert with its elegant French details compares to a 17th-century European opera house. With garland-draped columns, a color scheme of pale pastels, wall murals depicting pastoral scenes, and ceiling murals of whimsical girls, the Palace offers an unusually charming and graceful setting. As an early vaudeville house, built without amplified sound, it is designed so that no seat is further than 80 feet from the stage. While the interior is French, the exterior is loosely styled after a Florentine Renaissance palazzo, with multicolored terra cotta swags, flowers, fairies and theatrical masks illustrating the spirit of entertainment. “From its beginning in the late 1800s, the Orpheum Vaudeville circuit ruled the west coast. The most popular singers, dancers and comediennes played the circuit which extended from the Midwest through the West to the Pacific. The crowning stop for the most elite was to play in Los Angeles. The first Orpheum Theatre was built in Los Angeles in the 1880s. “When the second L.A. Orpheum Theatre burned down, another larger more ornate palace was built. Opening in 1911 our theatre was originally named the Orpheum. It is the oldest of the remaining Orpheum theaters in the United States. “Every major vaudeville star on the Orpheum circuit performed in this theatre. The names in light included: the Marx Brothers, W.C. Fields, Sarah Bernhardt, Bob Hope, Al Jolson and Will Rogers. When Harry Houdini performed his stage magic and death-defying escapes, an ambulance was kept parked on the curb in case of emergency. “The principal architect was G Albert Landsburg, who later also designed the new Orpheum Theatre down the block. He was a principal theatre designer in the west between 1909 and 1930. His local work includes the Warner Bros. Theatre Building in Hollywood, and the interiors of the Wiltern and El Capitan theatres. “While the interior is French, the exterior is loosely styled after a Florentine Renaissance palazzo, with multicolored terra cotta swags, flowers, fairies and theatrical masks illustrating the spirit of entertainment. The façade includes four panels depicting the muses of Song, Dance, Music and Drama (sculpted by Domingo Mora, a Spaniard whose work also decorated New York’s old Metropolitan Opera House.) “G Albert Landsburg built the theatre with fire safety in mind. In 1906 there was a devastating fire in a Chicago theater during a children’s matinee show. Because of the poor standard of fire-safety codes such as exit doors that only opened inwards–the patrons were trapped inside and all perished. As a direct response to new fire concerns and codes, the Palace was built with 22 fire escape exits and has one of the first sprinkler systems built in the city. “This specific style of decor is indicative of G Albert Landsburg’s work. He loved to use recessed lighting that can be seen in the three mural domes in the ceiling. Reflectors were built around the bulbs to give a kind of “holy glow”. As you look at the borders of the balcony you can see bare bulbs; this was not a cheap decorative technique. It was actually very exciting for a theater to have electricity at the turn of the century, so they showed them off. “In 1911, the theater could house 2,200 people on the orchestra and two balconies, the mezzanine and the gallery. The gallery was designed for “Negroes Only,” in a rare artifact of the generally tolerant Los Angeles. There is some controversy whether it was used as a minority balcony for people who were not white or if it was a “third class” balcony for the poor with cheaper seating. Either way, the gallery had a separate entrance from the alley and separate restrooms. The gallery was closed in the forties when the theatre was renovated to be movie theatre. Today the theater utilizes 1050 seats in the orchestra and mezzanine only. “The theater was built with beautiful box seating along the sides of the auditorium. When the primary entertainment shifted to film, the box seats were removed because they had ridiculously bad sightlines for movie viewing. They were replaced with two beautiful murals done by Anthony Hiemsburgen, a famous Los Angeles muralist. Later, these murals were covered with red velvet. They were uncovered five years ago. “One interesting feature is the Women’s Lounge. It has glass doors that overlook the theatre entrance. In 1911 women were not permitted by custom to go to the theater unescorted. Women were also not permitted to travel with a young man without a chaperone. This room protects against these social pitfalls. The windows looking into the foyer were designed to help women watch for their dates. “After a long history as a first run movie theatre, the history of the theatre declined with the decline of Broadway and its once flourishing entertainment district. The theatre continued with second run films and Spanish language films until it closed in the mid nineties. The theatre has continued as a featured location for films and television. In the coming year the Palace Theatre will reopen as a live performance venue, once again serving all of Los Angeles….”Thurs. Oct. 19, 6pmDEVENDRA BANHART (special performance!), BERT JANSCH (ex-Pentangle guitarist! hero to Neil Young and Jimmy Page! new album just got 5 stars in Mojo!), ESPERS (now nearing height of their powers!), WATTS PROPHETS (legendary!), JACKIE BEAT (outrageously great!), BELONG (ambient post-My Bloody Valentine fog-throb from New Orleans), YELLOW SWANS (psychedelic agitnoise from Bay Area!), BUFFALO KILLERS (lumbering brother rock n roll a la Mountain, the Beatles and Screaming Trees!) and GROUPERFriday, October 20, 6pmTAV FALCO & THE UNAPPROACHABLE PANTHER BURNS (legendary! see Arthur No. 21 for details!), BORIS (new collabo album with Sunno))) out on Halloween!), BE YOUR OWN PET (l.a. debut of new teenage drummer!), HEARTLESS BASTARDS, THE HOWLING HEX (feat legendary Neil Hagerty [ex-Royal Trux]), CHARALAMBIDES (beyond-rare L.A. perf), AWESOME COLOR (Stooges/Spacemen 3 ancestor worship!), TALL FIRS and “Imaginational Anthem Tour” acoustic guitar superstars CHRISTINA CARTER, SHAWN DAVID MCMILLEN and SEAN SMITHSat., October 21, 3pmSUN RA ARKESTRA (featuring 11 musicians, many of whom played in the Arkestra under Sun Ra, the Arkestra is now led by Marshall Allen!), OM (metal trance/mind expanders who laid peacewaste at ArthurBall), WHITE MAGIC (new album out in November!), MONEY MARK (whoa), SIX ORGANS OF ADMITTANCE, MICHAEL HURLEY (legendary!), JOSEPHINE FOSTER, FUTURE PIGEON, RUTHANN FRIEDMAN (legendary!), LIVING SISTERS feat. Inara George, Eleni Mandell & Becky Stark (Lavender Diamond), MIA DOI TODD, WOODEN WAND, RESIDUAL ECHOES and NVH (Comets on Fire’s Noel Von Harmonson noize proj, with special guest Ben Chasny). Plus: Closing “misplaced soul/funk hits” dance party DJed by THE NUMERO GROUPSun., Oct. 22, 3pmCOMETS ON FIRE, THE FIERY FURNACES (now featuring Jason Lowenstein on drums!), UNANNOUNCEABLE GUEST (WHO HAS RAMBLED NEAR AND FAR FOR DECADES), THE SHARP EASE (6 out of 7 songs on new EP are HITS!), ARCHIE BRONSON OUTFIT (from England), SSM (rawk n roll from Deeetroit), THE COLOSSAL YES (Comets on Fire’s Utrillo’s brilliant piano pop proj), THE NICE BOYS (glamorous rock), EFFI BRIEST and C.B. BRAND (local cosmic California country rock)* Festival will feature between-band DJ sets by Brian Turner (wfmu) and dublab DJs and many more TBA…* LOTS of surprise stuff yet to be announced.* All artists will perform full sets.* Tickets are $24/night, or $80 for a four-night pass.* ALL AGES are welcome. (Ask about our senior discount!)Buttloads of info on Arthur Nights at murdochSpace:http://www.myspace.com/arthurnights  Visit the official site at http://arthurnights.imeem.com3. A MESSAGE FROM SIR PLASTIC CRIMEWAVE, FRIEND OF ARTHUR.”greetings friendz!just wanted to offer up a subscription for my lil mix-tape club, which is about to go into it’s second year. The deal is this: You get 6 audio cassette tapes a year, delivered to your home– one every other month of all sorts of rare and psychedelical delights–past themes have been heavy rock, floaty acid folk, psych-pop, spacey jams, and super-scarce live/unreleased stuff…each features exclusive artwork, and ya get like a membership card/decree and some random shit.this time around plans for themes like biker rock, obscure shoegazer stuff, rare krautrock, communal freak-outs, satanic rock, and some more random pastiches…needless to say some personal recordings and totally unreleased stuff from my own collection makes it in there….at present the tape club has about 30 members, in 6 countries, and the feedback has been enthusiastic–everyone from midwest farmers to SF lesbians, music nerds (big surprise) from all over seem to dig it.so rates are$35 a year for USA$50 for overseasi am open to negotiation for trades or blank tape providing discounts……you can paypal me at plasticcw@hotmail.comor send a check or money order to:1061 n.western avechicago Il 60622thanks!! please reply before November 1, when the next year of tapes begins……………………”4.  A MESSAGE FROM SIR ERIK DAVIS, FRIEND OF ARTHUR AND AUTHOR OF THE ESSENTIAL NEW BOOK, “THE VISIONARY STATE: A JOURNEY THROUGH CALIFORNIA’S SPIRITUAL LANDSCAPE” WITH PHOTOGRAPHER MICHAEL RAUNER…* This Saturday, Sep 30, 2006:Visionary California in FilmIn this talk, I’ll focus on the desertscapes in the California imagination, as reflected in the book _The Visionary State_. I’ll show slides of Michael Rauner’s photos and some clips of cosmic Mojave films. Followed by Aron Ranen’s flick, “LSD in the 60s.”ATA, 992 Valencia Street, San Francisco8:30pm; $5* Monday Oct 2, 2006        Lecture: “The Visionary State”Hillside Club, 2286 Cedar Street, Berkeley7:30 pm* Thursday, Oct 5, 2006Reading: “The Visionary State”Gateways Books, 1126 Soquel Avenue, Santa Cruz7pm5. ARTHUR COLUMNIST DOUGLAS RUSHKOFF & FORMER ARTHUR COLUMNIST DANIEL PINCHBECK DIALOGUE IN NYC THIS THURSDAY — FREEArthur columnist Douglas Rushkoff writes:”I’ll be making a rare NYC public appearance this week (they’ve become rare because of the duties of fatherhood), engaging in a conversation with author Daniel Pinchbeck, who was recently contextualized as something of a Burning Man apocalyptic guru in a Rolling Stone.  “Emails from friends and readers (who know my bias against guruhood and fundamentalist prophecy of all kind) have been pouring in asking if I’m going to “square off” against him. All I can say is that while our views on the role and reality level of prophecy and psychedelic experiences may differ, I’m not the combative type, and see less value in dialectic or fiery rhetoric than in the honest quest for common ground and shared objectives.  “So while our methods of investigation and idea dissemination might not be compatible, many of our views on what needs to be done to fix civilization’s messes are the same. I expect nothing more and nothing less than conversation aimed at determining the appropriate application of prophecy in our times, however it may have been dislodged from the noosphere.  “Here are the details. My next scheduled NYC appearance will be at Barnes and Noble Astor Place, at the end of February, when the second collected edition of my comic book, Testament, is released.”September 28, 2006, 7 p.m.McNally Robinson Booksellers50 Prince StreetNew York City, NY10012-3325Phone 212-274-1160“Post-Modern Prophecy: Urgent Myths for Urgent Times?”A dialogue between authors Daniel Pinchbeck and Douglas RushkoffDaniel Pinchbeck is the author of “Breaking Open the Head” (Broadway Books), and “2012: The Return of Quetzalcoatl” (Tarcher/Penguin). His articles and essays have appeared in The New York Times Magazine, Wired, The Village Voice, Arthur, and many other publications. His “Here and Now” column ran in Arthur magazine from No. 9 (Mar 2004) to 18 (Sept 2005).Douglas Rushkoff’s titles include Cyberia, Media Virus, Nothing Sacred: The Truth about Judaism, Coercion (winner of the Marshall Mcluhan Award), and “Get Back in the Box.” The first collection of his Bible-based comic book, “Testament,” was published this year by DC/Vertigo. He has been a columnist for Arthur since No. 15 (Mar 2005) .6. FROM SIR R.A. PLEUGER, FRIEND OF ARTHUR:”Check JA Caesar and the ecsasy of “Jashumon”.It was rewarding for me.Scroll down to the third record and you can downloadthis beautiful music for a ghostly theatre play:”http://citiesonflamewithrockandroll.blogspot.com/2006_07_01_citiesonflamewithrockandroll_archive.htmlHypereducation is our only hope,Arthur Peace VigilantesBrooklyn – Philadelphia – Los Angeles