Culture Lust Weekend: Rembrandt's Protégé, Tom Rush And Some Cabaret

I'll be doing the tourist thing this weekend while family is in town, including visiting the Tara Donovan exhibit at MCASD (again!). While I'm pointing out the Hotel Del and walking through the San Diego Botanical Gardens, here are some options for all you Culture Lusters out there.

MUSIC

It’ll be awhile until Thom Yorke and co. hit up the town again, but in the meantime, check out the mastermind behind some of their (and Kid Cudi’s) remixed tunes. L.A.-based DJ Nosaj Thing, whose live shows have been lauded by The New York Times, will be at UCSD’s The Loft this Saturday for those in need of a beat.

Fresh off a whirlwind U.S. tour opening for The Killers, The Nervous Wreckords will hit The Casbah this Saturday, an exciting evening for those still lamenting the loss of Louis IXV – the Wreckords were formed by ex-Louis front man Brian Karscig and Brit rocker Anthony Saffery (of Cornershop fame), and include the band’s former drummer, Andy Ridley and bassist, Shaun Cornell.

Legendary folks/blues ambassador Tom Rush, AKA the man behind legendary 60’s EP “The Circle Game” and “No Regrets,” will take the stage this Friday to perform tracks from his first album in three decades, “What I Know.” Check out Rush’s hilarious “Remember Song” on YouTube—the singer-songwriter was overwhelmed earlier last year when it reached over 3.8 million hits.

From Matisse to mutiple wives, Picasso claimed many a muse, but this time, he’s sparking inspiration for others. Next Tuesday, chamber music group The Art of Élan will present “Shades of Affection,” their take on the Spaniard’s “Painter and Model III," at SDMA.

American Idol? Puh-lease. San Diego’s Orchestra Nova is staging the world’s first-ever audience-judged classical music competition. Open to all aspiring maestros that are residents of S.D. County, final entries will be voted on next week by the viral public. The top three will share the stage with the orchestra in March, and the winner, who will be picked by the attending audience, scores a spot with the orchestra next season. Hear more about it in this These Days interview.

More emerging musicians can be found at Dizzy’s this Saturday, and they may want to stash their fake ID (just in case)—17-year-old tenor saxophonist Chris Burgess and his co-performing underaged cohorts are all headed to Berklee College of Music on scholarship next fall. Their showcase is aptly-titled “The Future.” They’ll be accompanied by bassist-about-town Danny Weller.

THEATER

A return to the drug-addled 80’s will be staged by the Ion Theatre Company at Hillcrest’s Diversionary Theatre. “Hurlyburly,” penned by David Rabe and directed by Glenn Paris, is set in the Hollywood Hills (where else for maximum drama?), and focuses on a group of cohabitating, starry-eyed silver screen wannabes, from sketchy screenwriters to peppy pole dancers. Definitely a Saturday evening well spent.

Speaking of sultry moves, the San Diego Dance Theatre’s “Cabaret Dances” kick off this Saturday in Point Loma… in a 20,000-sq-foot studio, no less! Touting the atmosphere of a nightclub and sensual tunes from around the world, nab one of the performance’s 100 seats, pronto—only four performances are currently planned.

ART

If you can’t make it up to L.A. to catch the Getty’s “Drawings by Rembrandt and His Pupils: Telling the Difference,” a coinciding exhibit at SDMA may be your best bet to experience the inner workings of the Dutch luminary. “From Rembrandt’s Studio: The Prints of Ferdinand Bol” chronicles the oft-overlooked painter who toiled at Rembrandt’s side, juxtaposing Bol’s original prints and techniques with those of his mentor. It’s the world’s largest collection of works by Bol, whose pieces have often been mistaken as real-deal Rembrandts, and we think it’s a fascinating glimpse at the teacher-student dynamic.

Curated by Brian Goeltzenleuchter and captured by photographer Stephen Chalmers, Sushi’s new exhibit, “Snowbirds,” gives the Kerouac generation a whole new meaning. The show’s title is sanskrit for the nomadic urges of the 60-plus set who take refuge in RV’s, choosing to fall off the grid in favor of mobile living—something Chalmers himself did, spending the winter in an RV to compose the exhibit. Expect a ubiquitous desert landscape (it was shot in the southwest) and plenty of wild blue yonder.

Industrial artist John Zabrucky has concocted out-there heavy metal props for everything from "Blade Runner" to "Spiderman," so it’s no surprise the theme should continue into his ongoing exhibition at the Oceanside Museum of Art, “Industrial Alchemy,” which features multi-layered 400-pound metal masterpieces inspired by his film career. Tonight, he hosts a behind-the-scenes lecture (at 7 p.m.) breaking down their process.

Leave it to Francisco Goya for a side of snark with some of 18th century Spain’s finest etchings. The University of San Diego’s ongoing exhibition, “Goya’s Restless Monsters: Los Caprichos and the Birth of the Modern Print,” offers 80 of the painter’s takes on Spanish society using aquatint and etching techniques, and some side (snide?) commentary to go along with them— epigrams inscribed under some of the images contain puns revealing Goya’s perspective.

A truly Culture Lustable weekend awaits...enjoy!