Baton Rouge Temperature: 92°
Thursday, August 7, 2008

FUN & CALENDARS

 
NEW ORLEANS (AP) - Lynyrd Skynyrd may have dozens of albums after three decades of rocking, but guitarist Gary Rossington knows fans love to relive the band's heyday, dancing to "Sweet Home Alabama" or firing up their lighters for "Free Bird."

This information is from (225) 342-FILM, the official hotline of the Louisiana Office of Entertainment Industry Development. Here’s what’s happening for August 2008.

As we go through life, everyone can remember that one song or one movie that summed up their childhoods and teen years. Teen comedies have always been a part of pop culture, and every few years a new film comes out that lets us live those teenage experiences through the small screen. “Picture This” is the most recent teen comedy, and actress Cindy Busby co-stars in this ABC Family film.

Mixed Martial Arts, like all sports, has fans who are either faithful regulars or curious newcomers. The more veteran viewers among us can talk shop about obscure amateur fighters as enthusiastically as about the champions we know and love from pay per view. It is the top-billing names, however, that draw in the all-important "newbie revenue" of the MMA virgin. Fans new to the sport typically have to see a major fight in order to become a faithful follower.

JACKSON, Mississippi (AP) - Oscar-winning actor Morgan Freeman was injured in a car accident late Sunday night and is in a hospital in Memphis, Tenn. Regional Medical Center spokeswoman Kathy Stringer said Freeman, 71, is in serious condition.

C.J., Cody and Mack Solar, the three teen brothers collectively known as the Solar Heat, likely will perform for the biggest audience of their lives Saturday at the Blue Bayou/Dixie Landin’ water park.

Aug 1-Aug 7, 2008

Aug 1-Aug 7, 2008

Aug 1-Aug 7, 2008

After the Ultimate Fighting Championship revealed the Pay-Per-View numbers for UFC 81, the UFC found that close to half of the 600,000 PPV buys had never purchased an UFC event before. Was it a coincidence that this was Brock Lesnar’s debut in the UFC? A lot of people including the UFC don’t seem to think so.

A quick glance at the summer concert schedules of touring music stars reveals open-air amphitheaters to be frequent stops in much of the United States. The nation’s better-known amphitheaters include the scenic Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Denver, Wolf Trap near Washington, D.C., Chicago’s Ravinia and Southern California’s famous Hollywood Bowl.

New Orleans sizzles with more than summer heat in August. The music scene is as hot as ever, especially during the annual Satchmo SummerFest taking place today through Sunday, Aug. 3.

Aug 1-Aug 7, 2008

Upcoming meetings, cruises, shows and special events.

The Foundation for Historical Louisiana invites the public to attend a patriotic ceremony at Historic Magnolia Cemetery on Saturday, Aug. 9, from 10 to 11 a.m. The event commemorates the 1862 Civil War Battle of Baton Rouge.

Aug 1-Aug 7, 2008

The substance of dreams fills the canvases of Michael Crespo. Poetry, mythology and literature inspire his dramatic, meticulously rendered oil paintings and watercolors, and his animal subjects are powerful, iconic images.

Live jazz returns to the Ballroom in downtown Lafayette when the Rachael Price Quartet takes the stage on Friday Sept. 12, at 8 p.m.

Aug 1-Aug 7, 2008

The biggest tailgate party of the year comes to the Baton Rouge River Center on Saturday, Aug. 23, from 5 to 8 p.m.

Once upon a time, CDs in clear-plastic jewel cases were packaged in what were called long boxes.

Before the Hold Steady’s five increasingly successful years as a band, before the band’s four CDs and the many great reviews awarded to the newly released Stay Positive, guitarist Tad Kubler and singer Craig Finn started their new rock band with small expectations.

Grammy winners and Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees record the music of Lafayette songwriter David Egan.

Your fans are waiting, so hurry up and send us your information for the Fun section’s annual Band Directory, which will be published on Sept. 19.

If it’s time to take a break from the usual dining out experience, consider Serop’s. It’s a perfect alternative to another night of fried seafood or generic chain restaurant fare.

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Shia LaBeouf was not to blame for an early-morning car wreck in Los Angeles, authorities said Tuesday, pinning fault on the other driver for apparently running a red light. Also Tuesday, a person close to production of the "Transformers" sequel said LaBeouf's passenger in the accident was Isabel Lucas, the 23-year-old Australian who plays a supporting role. The person asked not to be named because he was not authorized to release the information.

The sport of MMA, like all sports, has fans who are either faithful regulars or curious newcomers. Narrowing down this field was tough, but it's based on five aspects of fighting.

When he’s hitting the road especially hard, million-selling singer-songwriter Gavin DeGraw spends about as much money for gas a month as his prison-guard dad earned a year in Upstate New York during the 1990s. In tandem with the price of fuel, the cost of touring is skyrocketing. Even so, DeGraw, whose hits include “I Don’t Want To Be,” “Follow Through,” “Chariot” and “In Love With A Girl,” prefers the touring life.

Check out BREC’s Titanic Exhibit trip to Galveston on August 1 and 2. The exhibit includes 125 authentic artifacts rescued from the Titanic’s final resting place, recreations of famous rooms, and dramatic stories of the passengers and crew. For details, call (225) 926-4659.

On one side of the coin he’s Billy Bob Thornton, star of the movie hits Friday Night Lights, Monster’s Ball, Armageddon and the Oscar-winning Sling Blade. And on the flip side he’s W.R. “Bud” Thornton, eclectic singer, songwriter and drummer.

Louisiana families start planning in mid-summer for schools starting in August, but summer fun is far from over. A short trip to a state park swimming pool is an easy, low-cost way to cool off for a day.

Upcoming meetings, cruises, shows and special events.

The debut CD from Boys Like Girls opens with the pop-rock band’s earnest, uplifting hit, “The Great Escape.” The lyrics are about that eternal, universal yearning to make the most out of life. Another Boys Like Girls hit, “Hero/Heroine,” works on a more personal level, but the song is just as grand in emotional sweep as “The Great Escape.” Before the band’s national tours, explosive Internet popularity and a major-label deal with Columbia Records, the Massachusetts foursome paid dues.

It’s probably a coincidence, but a lot of barbecue restaurants have gone the same direction as country music — brighter, shinier, aimed at a more upscale audience. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. Life seldom looks better than when viewed from above a rack of baby back ribs.

Wolf Parade is a major part of the Montreal music scene that includes Arcade Fire, Tegan and Sara, Islands and the Besnard Lakes. Sub Pop, the legendary Seattle-based record label, released Wolf Parade’s second Sub Pop disc, At Mount Zoomer, in June.

CHICAGO (AP) -- Christian Bale's Batman is perched atop a skyscraper, looking over a dark and foggy skyline pierced by glittering lights, preparing for a dive to the gritty streets below. But when he alights, he won't find the gargoyle-infested, bricks-and-mortar city that Washington Irving first coined "Gotham."

Good triumphed over evil Saturday morning when Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, flashing their blue lightsabers, rescued a hostage from Darth Vader and a squad of Imperial storm troopers. And that was only the beginning of BabelCon 3, an eclectic convention of “Star Wars,” “Star Trek” and science fiction/fantasy fans meeting again today at the Holiday Inn Select.
•Photos: Babel Con 3 lands in Baton Rouge

“BabelCon is one of the best cons I’ve ever attended,” snarled Klingon Commander Ri’Par sutai-boraS. “The atmosphere is more relaxed and you don’t feel that they are just out to take your latinum.” The annual sci-fi convention, which is this weekend, July 18-20, will fill seven conference rooms at the Holiday Inn Select on Constitution Ave. BabelCon is more than just an opportunity to be entertained and buy those Mr. Spock ears you’ve secretly always wanted. One of BabelCon’s primary objectives is to get children interested in science.

It’s a blend of many things including Cajun, New Orleans-style R&B and country-western music that bubbled up from the Louisiana swampland in the late 1950s and it will be celebrated today and tomorrow during the Deep South Crane And Rigging Swamp Pop Music Festival at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzales.

The question for Mixed Martial Arts fans this weekend is, “Do I watch the arguably best fighter in the world with Anderson “The Spider” Silva for free, or do I spend $39.95 to watch the other arguably best fighter in the world, Fedor Emelianenko?” The overwhelming opinion appears to be to buy the Affliction Banned promotion and record the free Ultimate Fighter Championship fight on cable.

Guitarist, singer and composer Muriel Anderson’s All-Star Guitar Nights often take place at the music trade shows and conventions that are natural gathering places for guitarists from throughout the world.

Dreamy, synthesizer-driven songs are the sort of thing usually identified with Nashville, Tenn. Yet Paper Route, a Music City quartet that recently signed with Universal Music Group’s Motown Records, melds ambient, electronics-filled arrangements with solid, traditional songwriting.

The widely talented Jools Holland wears many hats. He’s the genial, laid-back host of Later … With Jools Holland, a BBC music program that’s actually about music. He’s a radio host, too, as well as, what brought him to the party in the first place, a terrific pianist and songwriter.

Café LaGrange has re-opened in a new location on South Range Avenue in Denham Springs.

Singer-guitarist Thom Bresh grew up surrounded by music and film. His stepfather was a set photographer for Hollywood movie studios. And his biological father, Merle Travis, was a major country music songwriter and performer who invented the influential Travis picking style of guitar playing.

Upcoming meetings, cruises, shows and special events.

ADVERTISEMENTS


PROMOTIONS


WBRZ CHANNEL 2


 
Envelope icon Have a question, comment, news tip or story idea? Click here to give us some feedback.