It’s another Tuesday again. Head over to the Scürvy Dög and for an evening of music curated by DJs Brian Shawn Oakley and Joshua Livingston Kemp I. It’s like a pahty. So what’s in the stack?

Crunk Rock, “Rap people” music, Cheddar, 1890’s, Earth, China, Funko, Cowbop, Notown, RnR (rest & relaxation) music, Cricket chirp (jk!), Boner, Dark brown, Ah so, Twang, Royal Oui,, Beast Box, hWammy, Unlimited RPM & more!!!

C’mon guys, drop some chirp in there.

10pm to 1am, Tuesday, August 14, Tue for 2Uesday, Scürvy Dög, 1718 Westminster Street

I was biking down Canal St earlier today when I noticed something strange. The six foot tall monster weeds that have been an unwanted fixture near the Roger Williams National Park were under attack.

Dan D’Alessio, photographed here with his weapon of choice, has chosen to spend his days of unemployment tending to our public spaces. Huge thanks to Dan and all the anonymous others who every day pick up litter, water flowers and weed tree beds.

Pix after jump.

more »

The Rhode Island Patient Advocacy Coalition (RIPAC) holds community meetings on the second Tuesday of every month. (The location may change in the future so check RIPAC for updates.) These are the only meetings that are open to the general public.

This meeting is for anyone who wants to learn more about medical marijuana in Rhode Island. If you are interested in becoming a licensed patient or caregiver, this meeting is for you.

Look for the white building between Eagle Tool Co. and Simms Avenue with huge parking lot. Lots of free parking.

6:30pm, Tuesday, August 14, RIPAC Headquarters, 498 Kinsley Avenue (directions)

(8.12) According to the Wild Colonial website there is a Pub Quiz tonight, Sunday. Compete for cool prizes and cover yourself with glory and very large T-shirts. Categories might include current events, local stuff, 80’s television, NASA, stories of the Old Testament, Irish boxers. You never know. It’s different every week, but it always ends in a 12-question audio music category. The rules are explained as you go along, so form a team of one to four people and just show up. Swell prizes for win, place and show. The team coming in third always goes home with these Wild Colonial pint glasses (you add the beer).

8pm, Sunday, August 12, Wild Colonial Tavern, 250 South Water Street, plenty of parking, air conditioning

We occasionally tell readers to head out of town. CumberlandFest runs all weekend, but Sunday’s weather and music look very promising, particularly the Eric Barao Band.

Barao, frontman for the (late lamented) power pop band The Cautions, has been busy writing music and laying down tracks for this new project. This is a new sound, and the sophistication of the songwriting and polished production values of the band’s upcoming cd can be sampled here — my favorite may be ‘New Earth.’

The Eric Barao Band features Carlene Barous on piano and vocals and everybody else is named Matt. We have Matt Boynton on bass and vocals, Matt Gillooly* on guitar and vocals, and Matt Lydon on drums. On Sunday, special guest performances by Jeff Caglarcan and Jay Raffi of the Cautions!

*Yes, this is the same Matt Gillooly who won the grand prize last January at the Providence Hackathon at Betaspring with his Hungrypotamus.

Eric Barao Band, 5pm to 6:30pm, Sunday, August 12, $5 (age 13 and up) Diamond Hill State Park (directions)

This Sunday is the deadline to register to vote in the September primary. It is also the last day for voters who have moved or changed their names since the last time they voted to re-register in order to cast a ballot on September 11.

Why a Sunday? State law requires Rhode Islanders to be registered at least 30 days before an election in order to be eligible to vote. In order to register, you must be at least 18 years old by November 6, a resident of Rhode Island and a U.S. citizen.

Even though the deadline falls on a Sunday, our office at 148 West River Street in Providence will be open from 8:30am to 4pm. In addition, every municipality has made arrangements to enable residents to register close to home at the last-minute.

Rhode Islanders can also download a voter registration form. In order to beat the deadline, your original, signed form must be received by us or your local voter-registration location by closing time on Sunday.

September’s primary will include races for the U.S. House of Representatives as well as some General Assembly seats and municipal offices.

Meet David Siegel and his wife Jackie, the subjects of “The Queen of Versailles.” In this new character-driven documentary by Lauren Greenfield we step into the lives of a billionaire family and their financial challenges in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis. The film follows two unique characters, whose rags-to-riches success stories reveal the innate virtues and flaws of the America Dream.

The movie has been well-received, but I need to take issue with one sentiment expressed in the New York Times review by A.O. Scott (with whom I usually agree),

David and Jackie Siegel are no better than any of the rest of us. That may go without saying. But the reverse is also true, [Italics mine. BC] and Ms. Greenfield’s real achievement is to disarm the reflex of superiority that the spectacle of her subjects’ way of life may provoke in some viewers.

Okay, yes, it’s better if a documentary is nuanced and thought-provoking, but to suggest that the rest of us are no better than the Siegels?!!! Mr. Scott, I am happy to inform you that every single person I know is intrinsically and by all objective criteria “better” than the Siegels.* And maybe you need new friends.

Having said that, I want to see this movie. Rated PG. Running time 1 hour 40 minutes.

*I even have a better David Segal.

Starts Friday, August 10, Queen of Versailles, Cable Car Cinema, 204 South Main Street

(8.10) This just in from Girls Rock! RI,

Let’s keep the Momentum from Girls Rock Camp 2012 going. Come to Rock Lab and meet other female musicians or try out that bass that’s been collecting dust since your last birthday. You’ve been wanting to play — now’s your chance to do so with awesome women in a supportive environment!

What is Rock Lab? It’s a monthly jam session for girls ages 11 to 17, and ladies 18 and up.

ALL abilities! No experience necessary. From newbies to seasoned rock veterans, everyone is welcome. Please donate $5 to $10 to support Girls Rock! RI.

GIRLS ROCK LAB for ages 11 to 17: Lesson at 6:30pm, Rock from 7pm to 8pm.

LADIES ROCK LAB for ages 18 and up: Lesson at 8pm, Rock from 8:30pm to 9pm.

Donation requested, 6:30pm to 9pm, Friday, August10, JamStage, 25 Esten Avenue, Pawtucket

Dennis McNett from Wolfbat Studios in Brooklyn will be the Artist in Residence for Foo Fest. McNett and the AS220 Industries will be building an elaborate Viking Vessel covered in screen/woodblock prints, laser cut embellishments, and theatrics that will be paraded throughout the streets during Foo Fest. In the days leading up to the parade there will be a mask making workshop free to anyone interested in participating in the parade/performance. The masks are paper mache, covered in woodblock/screen printed patterns, and accessible to all ages and skill levels.

McNett’s graphic aesthetic and love for narrative work has been translated in many ways and has been displayed internationally. His work ranges from larger than life Viking ship performances/parades in Philly, resurrecting Nordic giants on West Broadway in Manhattan, Dragon slayings in Oklahoma, masks, installations and sculptures to unique hand-carved wood cut pieces, traditional relief prints, and graphics.

10am to 6pm, Friday, August 10, Workshop, AS220, 115 Empire Street

Friday — @Firehouse 13, Sun of Sound, the Tree, Bravado, Shane Hall @Fête Lounge, the Ill Eagles, Max Krieger, Alexandra Dutremble, Tapestries, 14 Ft 1, Maplight, Cosmic Purple @the Spot Underground, Bernie Worrell Orchestra, Daddie Long Legs @the Apartment, Evil Animals, the IF, Safari @AS220, Kevin Williams and the Invisible Orphans, Cannibal Ramblers, Matters, the Denver Boot @the Met, Lions Lions, Half Hearted Hero, It Lives, It Breathes, Foreign Tongues, Gaia

Saturday — @the Apartment, None Perfect, Applied Science, Saint to Sinner @the Met, Dog Day Afternoon, Headless Nixon @Fête Lounge, a Truth Divides, Focus on Everest, Sienna, Morris and the East Coast, Sayings @the Spot Underground, Santa Mamba, Vlaje la Luz @Local 121, Dox @AS200, Foo Fest (see separate post below)

(Photo of Headless Nixon)

(8.9) On the bill tonight at Machines With Magnets — atmospheric psychodrone metal guitarist Darsombra. (Review of ‘Ecdysis’ from Aquarius),

Low-end drones, mysterious field recordings, sitar, haunting melody… and crushing electric guitar heaviness . . . This 34 minute, six-track debut cd from Baltimore’s Brian Daniloski (a member of metal mongers Meatjack) is right up our alley, and yours too if you dig the more abstract, arty, ambient sides of, say, Thrones, Melvins, Harvey Milk, Earth, and Fantomas. Ecdysis is just a bit scary, and full of super-heavy moments, so it could be taken as some kind of nightmare soundtrack. But there’s much beauty and gentleness here too. . . Anytime we find a disc where, y’know, one track sounds like 20th century classical meets Melvins and another like the labored, ritualistic breathing of some sort of demonic creature, and it’s metal but not really, and kinda pretty too, well, there’s only one way to end the review: recommended.

It is pretty. Listen here. (And this guy liked Eternal Jewel.)

With Kintaan, Dead Air, Rhythm and Blues Motherfuckers, Hector 3

9pm, Thursday, August 9, Machines With Magnets, 400 Main Street, Pawtucket, 475.2655

One entry in the Rhode Island International Film Festival was made right here in Providence — “Breakfast with Curtis” was written, directed, and shot by Laura Colella, teacher of directing and film production at RISD. She writes of the film’s unique genesis in the Wall Street Journal (“How to Keep Your Indie Feature on Track: Shoot your Neighbors”).

It was June of 2010 . . . I looked around at the characters in the three-family purple house where I lived. On the first floor was an eccentric online bookseller, who started drinking wine at 10 a.m. with his quietly witty and stylish partner. On the second floor was our free-spirited landlady, who was in her seventies. And on the third floor, was my artist-performer boyfriend and me. We all loved to hang out on the porch and in the yard, which had homemade patios from salvaged brick and granite, two fountains, a swing, a “bedswing”, a ping-pong table, and an extensive vegetable garden.

The couple next door lived in a one-family house with two sons . . . They were regular visitors, and we had lots of laughs over beers and a variety of cocktails . . . Great locations, vibrant characters, compelling situations from our lives and imaginations . . . the elements for a movie were brewing right under my nose. I threw out the idea of a homegrown movie project to everyone, and they were immediately seriously committed to making it happen.

The film recently screened to rave reviews at the Los Angeles Film Festival and comes highly recommended by Christina Bevilacqua despite the near total absence of whales.

$10, “Breakfast With Curtis,” (6:30pm shorts), 7pm feature, Friday, August 10, the Vets, running time 82 minutes, Q & A with cast and crew follows

With a recent line-up change the Famous Winters are now Matt DeCosta, Alex Garzone, and Nick Dawson. Head down to the Burnside Park Beer Garden Thursday to see what that sounds like. (They will also be playing Foo Fest this Saturday at 3:50pm to 4:20pm on the indoor stage.)

I’m not sure I can find any pictures of this band that don’t include the guy who just left it . . . so here’s the fountain.

Beer Garden runs from 4:30pm to 7pm.

Free, Music, 5:30pm to 6:30pm, Thursday, August 9, Burnside Park, Kennedy Plaza

One of the best from this much beloved comedy gang — even if the actual Westminster Dog show is pretty much satire-proof. “Best in Show” was directed by Christopher Guest who, with Eugene Levy, also wrote the script. Roger Ebert liked it a lot.

Dogs were not put on earth to pose, prance, sit, point and have their coats shampooed. They were created to chew shoes, bark at cars, have accidents on the rug and get their tummies scratched.

That’s why I approve of “Best in Show,” a wickedly funny mocumentary by Christopher Guest that makes fun of a Philadelphia dog show with every instrument in the satirist’s arsenal, from the skewer to the mallet.

One of the most spot-on performances comes from Fred Willard as the genial but dim color commentator à la Joe Garagiola. Also starring Catherine O’Hara, Michael McKean, Bob Balaban, Jane Lynch and Jennifer Coolidge (seen here), and Eugene Levy who shares screenwriting honors.

Running time 90 minutes. Rated PG-13.

Free, Dusk, Thursday, August 9, Movies on the Block, Grant’s Block, Westminster at Union Street,(directions)

(8.11) It’s that time of year again — head downtown Saturday for Foo Fest 2012. Music all day, art installations, performance art, and food trucks! Musicians and performers on tap include:

Bounce artists from New Orleans, Big Freedia and the Divas top the bill. Also, Spiritual Recess, Boo City, Trip Dicks, the Famous Winters, Milkbread, Generations barbershop quartet (!), Bill Harley and Keith Munslow, Meager Sunlight, Dead Air, Symmetry, DirtyDurdie, AS220 Youth Zuology (hip-hop showcase), Thrillhouse, Sugar Honey Iced Tea, Songs, Humanbeast, Ravi Shavi, Sandworm

For more on the Performances, Art Installations, and Activities click here. (Includes a Mini Maker Faire.)

$7 (children 4 and under free), 1pm to 1am, Saturday, August 11, AS220, 95-115 Empire Complex and block

(8.7) The Olneyville Housing Corporation is throwing a neighborhood party — an evening full of activities and entertainment for the whole family — starting at 5:30pm at Donigian Park on Valley Street.

The Extraordinary Rendition Band, Big Nazo, and Case Closed! Bring your own blanket or chairs. Parade prop-making station . . . make a hat, baton or mask for a parade around the park. Food trucks.

Part of the “Celebrate Providence” neighborhood performing arts initiative of the City of Providence Department of Art, Culture and Tourism. Free and open to the public.

Free, 5:30pm to 8:30pm, Tuesday, August 7, Donigian Park, Valley Street, (rain date . . . not a problem)