C ALENDAR OF Note to readers: This entertainment calendar is a subjective sampling of arts and other events taking place in the Santa Barbara area for the next week. It is by no means comprehensive. Be sure to read feature stories in each issue that complement the calendar. In order to be considered for inclusion in this calendar, information must be submitted no later than noon on the Wednesday eight days prior to publication date. Please send all news releases and digital artwork to slibowitz@yahoo.com)
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25 Go Big – Lindsey Ross, a fine art photographer based in the Funk Zone who holds an MFA in photography from Brooks Institute, will demonstrate ambrotype portrait photography using her 20-by-24 inch Levy Process Camera in a special event at Potek Winery a few blocks up from the beach from her studio. This will be the first time Ross has made portraits in California with this camera, which was originally manufactured in the 1920s for process and reproduction work. Ross restored the camera and retrofitted it to shoot wet plate collodion, the late 19th-century photographic process through which she makes her fine art work as well as portraiture for her business La Chambre Photographique. Frank Goss, Santa Barbara-based art dealer and owner of Sullivan Goss Gallery, will open the event with a few words providing historical perspective and context for the camera and photographic process that will be demonstrated. Santa Barbara Magazine commissioned Ross for a series of clear glass ambrotypes featured in the December 2015 article “The Glass Menagerie”, a 10-page fashion spread. WHEN: 7 pm WHERE: Potek Winery, in The Mill, 406 E. Haley St. COST: free INFO: 453-6927 or www. lachambrephotographique.com Write on – Sure, there’s email, texting, Twitter, and all sorts of other instant methods of communication. But
perhaps nothing conveys a message of ardor or adulation more than the good old-fashioned love letter, the hard-copy written kind that sustained mankind until just a couple of decades ago. Art From Scrap hosts Love Letters Workshop offering a creative evening reflecting on who or what touches the heart. Guests are invited to create a letter of love using vintage typewriters, fine papers, quills and pigments, with poetic prompts to get you started. Attendees will be guided through composing a genuine love letter directed to anyone or anything. Envelopes and postage will be provided so others can receive these thoughtful works of art. Sondra Weiss, an Art Educator who is on a mission to “Bring Back the Lost Art of Love Letters”, and Simon Kiefer, an avid poet, dancer, and writer who has an extensive collection of vintage typewriters, are the co-hosts for the workshop. WHEN: 7-9 pm WHERE: 302 East Cota Street COST: $20 INFO: 884-0459 or www. exploreecology.org/art-from-scrapsanta-barbara.php FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 26 Cleese Enough – Carpinteria’s Plaza Playhouse Theater hosts its next installment of its popular “Underground Comedy Night” series, featuring what’s being called the most accomplished group of performers yet. Well, they may not all be household names yet, but one of them certainly stands out: Camilla Cleese, the daughter of former Montecito-based funnyman John Cleese
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25 Back to Stand-up – Brad Garrett won three Emmy Awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series for his role as Raymond’s chronically insecure older brother Robert on the hit TV show Everybody Loves Raymond in the mid-2000s. He’s also known, due to his distinctive baritone voice, as any number of characters in more than 30 animated features, playing parts in such hits as Finding Nemo, Ratatouille, and Tangled. But Garrett actually broke into show business as a comedian, and his stand-up act has spanned more than three decades, dating back to the days when he was one of the youngest comics ever to appear on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. Within a few years, he was opening for such icons as Frank Sinatra and Sammy Davis, Jr., in Las Vegas, and his stand-up routines still bring down the house all across the country. While he doesn’t describe his act as “blue,” it is salty; hence his own tag for the tour: “Offending America One City at a Time.” WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: Chumash Casino Resort, 3400 East Hwy. 246, Santa Ynez COST: $40 INFO: (800) CHUMASH (2486274) or www.chumashcasino.com
38 MONTECITO JOURNAL
EVENTS by Steven Libowitz
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 25 Together Again – Grammy-winning saxophonist-composer Joe Lovano and the equally lauded guitarist-composer John Scofield, who together formed one of the most popular jazz groups of the early 1990s, have reunited after almost 20 years. Scofield, considered one of the most important guitarists and composers in the genre, possesses a distinctive sound and a diverse stylistic approach that falls somewhere between post-bop, funk-edged jazz, and R&B. A masterful improviser, he has also recorded more than 40 albums as a leader and collaborated with such legends of jazz as Miles Davis, Pat Metheny, Charlie Haden, Herbie Hancock, Bill Frisell, and Brad Mehldau, as well as contemporary artists including Mavis Staples, Government Mule, and Phil Lesh. Lovano stands out as one of the most successful saxophonists working today, lauded not just for his compelling saxophone tone and improvisational ability but also for his forwardthinking presentation of new musical ideas and ensemble concepts. Now, with two more decades of experience since their last collaboration, the pair are back together showcasing a dynamic new ensemble for their North American tour featuring Ben Street on bass and Lewis Nash on drums. The concert kicks off Jazz at the Lobero’s spring 2016 season. WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: 33 East Canon Perdido St. COST: $39 & $49 ($105 patron tickets include priority seating and pre-concert private reception) INFO: 963-0761 or www.lobero.com
of Monty Python fame. Camilla, 31, moved here at 18 and attended UCSB before launching her own stand-up career that has included lots of personal material skewering her family, especially dad and his four wives (number 2, Barbara Trentham, is her mom). She’s also collaborated with her father on several occasions, co-writing a stage version of his hit 1988 film A Fish Called Wanda and also his 2011 Alimony Tour (that was spurred by John Cleese’s expensive divorce from Alice Faye, his wife when he lived in Montecito). But tonight, the 6’1” Camilla is just one of four So Cal professional stand-ups – the others are Jesus Trejo, Kiran Deol, and Marty Ross – who are currently breaking into the mainstream. David Sharp once again hosts the evening of yuks from the comedians who have appeared on networks such as HBO, Showtime, Fox, and Comedy Central, and/or on such programs as Last Comic Standing and Conan. All ages are welcome, but we’re told the show will feature mature language and themes, so parents and guardians are not encouraged to bring children and to use their own discretion with teens. WHEN: 8 pm Plaza Playhouse Theater, 4916 Carpinteria Avenue, Carpinteria COST: $20 INFO: 684-6380 or www. plazatheatercarpinteria.com Lonesome by Candlelight – Santa Barbara folk musician Peter Feldmann is celebrating the beginning of his 54th year of enmeshment in American traditional music by – what
• The Voice of the Village •
else – hosting an evening of bluegrass. The founder of the the Bluebird Cafe (in 1971, now SOhO) and the Old Time Fiddler’s Convention (1972), Feldmann was the first to bring many prominent folk, blues, and bluegrass artists to town, including Bill Monroe, the Stanley Brothers, The New Lost City Ramblers, Fred McDowell, and the Balfa Brothers, among others. The longtime bluegrass historian, collector, music consultant, teacher, and producer is, of course, also a popular performer in several bands and ensembles, one of the best of which is the Very Lonesome Boys. The quartet of seasoned musicians features master fiddler Blaine Sprouse, the venerable Santa Barbara bassist Tom Lee (who founded and ran the Live Oak Concert Series for years) and banjo and guitar player David West, an original member of the Cache Valley Drifters who is now a prolific producer and studio musician, with Feldmann on mandolin and vocals. The group, which plays bluegrass both traditional and adventurous, hasn’t performed in more than a year, which adds a special glow to tonight’s show by candlelight at the Presidio Chapel, the narrow but acoustically fine historical site downtown. WHEN: 8 pm WHERE: 123 East Canon Perdido Street COST: $15 INFO: 688-9894 or www. bluegrasswest.com SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 27 Teen Star Finale – The annual singing competition that has become 25 February – 3 March 2016