The Asteroid Head Art Club

Listening

Opening reception for “Welcome To Asteroid Head Land… Dude” @ Lawrence Arts Center

Asteroid Head Art Club is at it again. Their upcoming show at the Lawrence Arts Center, ‘Welcome To Asteroid Head Land… Dude’, is a tacit invitation to escape everydayness, at least momentarily. Clad in matching uniforms they have set aside the lone artist in the studio art production model for something a little more tribal, a little more exuberant. Collaboration is at the heart of their work, often a multitasking of painting, sculpture, printmaking and performance.

Opening: “Place” group exhibition @ Lawrence Arts Center

This group exhibition is designed to explore many mediums and approaches to art, all under the umbrella of the theme of place.

Participating artists include: Armin Mühsam, Chris Mateer, Ke-Sook Lee, Dylan Beck, Norman Akers, Mike Sinclair, Daniel Coburn, Celia Smith, Matt Needham, David Vertacnik, Laura Nugent, Yuri Zupancic, and Heather Smith Jones.

Opening reception for “Objects + Presence” by Keshav Ramaswami @ Lawrence Percolator

Keshav Ramaswami, from Objects

Keshav Ramaswami is a junior at Shawnee Mission East High School who was born in Lawrence. His current Influences include Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Joan Miro. “Objects” is an a conceptual series that explores placement, color, texture, and size of forms that includes a tapered figure, a circle, and a diaphanous line. “Presence” is a series of works composed of arrows, definite rectangles, indefinite quadrilaterals, faded textures and free-form circles.

Tonight’s opening reception features a musical performance by the artist and his band.

747 Records Showcase featuring Baba Kahn / Sunny Brown / Lomaticc @ Granada

Baba Kahn is a distinguished Canadian club DJ whose R&B and Bhangra-influenced tracks made waves via his series of “Culture Shock” compilations. Kahn and his 747 Records crew are bringing Montreal-based R&B singer Sunny Brown on the road for their latest bender.

Brody Buster Band / Sons of Great Dane @ Jackpot

It’s been more than a decade since Brody Buster was anointed a harmonica prodigy and dished props from the likes of B.B. King and Jay Leno. Now that he’s done grown up, Buster is a decidedly different personality – one who favors rock and roll as much as the blues. His band featuring bassist Chris Handley and drummer Tommy Dimmel gigs relentlessly, loosening up crowds with fiery originals and a deep list of covers. Be sure to check out our podcast interview with Brody.

Opener Sons of Great Dane are a twangy pop-rock band from Kansas City reminiscent of acts like Slobberbone and The Old 97s.

Shadowbox #1- Brent Windler from Gnarly Enterprises on Vimeo.

Fourth of July / Drakkar Sauna @ Taproom

Ranging from tuneful indie folk to jubilant pop-rock, Lawrence’s Fourth of July is one of Lawrence’s most consistently awesome bands. The group will soon release the follow-up to its well-received debut album “Fourth of July on the Plains.”

On the heels of their Louvin Brothers tribute record “Wars and Tornadoes,” Drakkar Sauna latest release — “20009” — finds them returning to established Sauna subplots like spears, space, and old people. The music is less old-timey and more present-timey, rife with blaring trumpets, barroom piano tinkling, regal harmonies, and sing-along melodies. Listen to our podcast preview of “20009” with Drakkar Sauna.

The Caves / The Old Black (acoustic) @ Replay

Kansas City’s The Caves play tuneful and melancholy folk-rock that will make you sway and smile and maybe hold hands with a stranger.

The Shadowbox #1- The Caves from Gnarly Enterprises on Vimeo.

Trucker @ Jazzhaus

Lawrence’s most reliable fuser of alt-country and grunge sounds is rolling out new singles via its website. The group’s new album “Hello Amero” is also available for streaming or pay-as-you-please download.

? See the full calendar for tonight

And new in movies…

Broken Embraces
A movie director (Lluis Homar) falls in love with his star (Penelope Cruz), who is the mistress of the industrialist financing his film. A melodrama painted in the hues of a Bollywood musical, “Broken Embraces” is Pedro Almodovar’s homage to Hitchcock’s “Vertigo,” that moody account of obsessive love and double lives.

The Wolfman
Despite a first-rate cast led by Benicio Del Toro, Anthony Hopkins and Emily Blunt, a classy re-creation of late-Victorian England and commendable respect for Lon Chaney’s 1941 original movie, this werewolf movie is more a yawn than a scream. The tone adopted by director Joe Johnston is oppressive to the point of suffocating.

? See all of today’s movie showtimes