Page 26 - the NOISE September 2012

Hoppy by Bret Blevins is at the Arts Prescott Cooperative Gallery.
September marks the end of summer, the beginning of cooler weather and a whole lotta arts and culture goodness
in Prescott. While the outdoor events have mostly joined the kiddies in packing up their bags and heading back to school, the fall happenings are just getting revved up and ready to roll.
Before diving into the plethora of arts stuff to do around town, it’s worth mentioning that a brand new business will be joining the small but vital independent bookstore scene. Ty Fitzsimmons, the man behind the Raven Café, is opening up The Peregrine book- store. Although the official opening date is still nebulous, the store should be open for business sometime this month. The Per- egrine will not only feed your mind with lots of tasty books, but it will feature some pretty awesome details for the art lovers. A gorgeous mural by local artist Paul Abbot will be installed in the Children’s Area and lo- cal artist/musician Pat Beary has added his woodworking skills. Folks familiar with the custom bar over at the Raven are sure to rec- ognize Beary’s inimitable aesthetic. Keep up with the Peregrine’s progress by dropping by the store at 219A North Cortez.
The official Prescott Film Festival (PFF) may be over, but local cinephiles will be hap- py to learn that PFF will continue to show at least one flick a month at Yavapai College’s Performance Hall. September’s offering, General Education, is described as “a quirky comedy about a family learning to grow to- gether” will hit the big screen on September
12. prescottfilmfestival.com.
Peeps looking for a bit of Old West his-
tory, theater and grub might want to head over to The Palace Restaurant & Saloon on Monday, September 3. Situated on Mon-
Tony Norris is at the Elks Opera House September 22.
tezuma Street,
The Palace
is located in
an historic
building that
boasts the bar famously rescued from the fire that destroyed Whiskey Row in 1900. The whole place is loaded with antiques and triv- ia and is often a “must see” stop for tourists. And let’s face it, the chance to walk through a pair of swinging saloon doors is just plain cool.While The Palace is a must-see for histo- ry buffs any time, the addition of a Doc Holi- day dinner theater show makes it dang near irresistible. Check out the one-man show at two performances, with a fairly reasonable ticket price. 120 S. Montezuma Street, (928) 541-1996.
Also on the theater front, Prescott Center for the Arts is putting on a version of An- nie. In a bit of a venue switcheroo, this pro- duction will be calling the Yavapai College Performing Arts Hall home. PCA Executive Director Jon Meyer will be donning his the- atrical director’s cap for this production. Be prepared to have those annoyingly irresist- ible songs stuck in your head for days and days. pfaa.net.
There are a couple of pretty awesome fundraising events that really run the gambit from affordable to dang swanky. On Friday, September 14, Hometown Heroes will be performing a benefit concert for Habitat for Humanity at the Elks Opera House. Home- town Heroes are a versatile bunch, and will be playing music from a wide variety of genres. Tickets for this event are $25, with $5 from every ticket sold going directly to Habi- tat for Humanity. elksoperahouse.com.
The second truly noteworthy fundraiser will be happening Saturday, September 22
at the Prescott Re- sort. Tom Agostino, of The Folk Sessions, is no stranger to sup- porting worthy lo-
cal causes and is one of the primary forces behind An Evening with People Who Care: Celebrating 20 Years of Caring. Taking a page from the Grand Ole Opry, this benefit will of- fer dinner and entertainment featuring two of Arizona’s living legends, Joe Bethancourt and Tony Norris. Arizona Music and Enter- tainment Hall of Famer, Mr. Bethancourt, is famous for his banjo pickin’, while Mr. Nor- ris is described as “...if Garrison Keeler was raised on cornbread and beans.” Proceeds from the event go to the community organi- zation People who Care. This group matches volunteers with folks who need extra help to continue living independently in their own homes. (928) 445-2480.
On the music front, it’s pretty much the usual suspects playing around town. Kick up your heels country style at Matt’s Saloon, rock out to metal tunage at The Drunken Lass, or get your weekly dose of Don Cheek & the Cheektones at Coyote Joes.
The Raven continues it mix of blues, Ameri- cana and jazz music performed by both local and visiting bands. One of the more interest- ing groups to hit the stage in Prescott is AK & Her Kalashnikovs. This band will play at the Raven on September 14, at 8PM. They de- scribe their music as “New Old World Music,” and that’s a dang accurate way to describe the mix of gypsy music, Russian lullabies and other “Old World” styles they favor. The six-member band features vocals by Alissa Kueker on violin and vocals, a percussionist, accordionist, upright bass player, a second violinist and a guitar/mandolin/banjo player.
Who could resist a combo like that? Per usual, there’s no cover. Check out the Raven’s web- site for more info on their music schedule at ravencafe.com.
Typically the main “don’t miss” pick is an event rather than an ongoing show. But, trends are made to be bucked, and the num- ber one “don’t miss” arts doin’ for September does just that. The Arts Prescott Coopera- tive Gallery will be presenting, “Chuckles and Smiles,” a show of paintings by artist Bret Blevins.
Big deal, you say? Well, Mr. Blevins has a pretty interesting arts background. In the early 1980’s, he worked for Marvel Comics on well-known titles like X-Men, Spiderman and The Hulk. He also had a brief run with Dark Horse comics where he worked on Tarzan,
John Carter of Mars, and Star Wars comics. His career shifted for a while to storyboarding for some major animation companies like Disney, Warner Bros., and The Cartoon Net- work, before returning to the world of com- ics and graphic novels.
With an arts resumé as flat out cool as that, who could pass up this show? Expect an interesting blend of traditional painting and cartooning techniques combined with a strong sense of whimsy. The show, “Chuckles and Smiles,” will run through September 26. Head over to 134 S. Montezuma Street to see for yourself, or call the gallery for hours and more info at (928) 776-7717.
| Angie Johnson-Schmit tries to remember the kind of September that follows. slackerwriter@gmail.com
26 • SEPTEMBER 2012 • the NOISE arts & news magazine • thenoise.us