One of reggae's rising stars, Kingston-born Yami Bolo emerged as a vocal phenom when still in his teens. He's gone on to follow in the footsteps of the genre's greatest, blending rhythm, politics and spirituality into a mesmerizing musical mix. Career high points include the Miya-Yami Project, a 1994 video and CD collaboration with Japanese superstar Kazafumi Miyazawa; more recently, Bolo appears in Life & Debt, a documentary on Jamaican life based on text by author Jamaica Kincaid. That film will roll as part of the show tonight at 7, when Yami Bolo performs with the Yellow Wall Dub Squad at the Boulder Theater, 2032 14th Street, Boulder; for tickets, $11.75, call 303-786-7030 or log on to www.bouldertheater.com.
Friday, May 2
Politics and art have never been strange bedfellows. Picasso's epic anti-war mural, "Guernica," remains one of the more vivid examples of that statement, and it's an obvious inspiration for an international movement dubbed Wearnica by an organization called the Works on Shirts Project. The idea is for artists to transform white shirts into personal anti-war messages and then wear them in a public place. Locally, the idea's been embraced by the Colorado Chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art, which will host a Political/Art Gallery Stroll and Discussion that begins tonight at 7 at Carol Mier Fashion Art, 754 Santa Fe Drive, and ends around 11 at Common Grounds, 3484 West 32nd Avenue in northwest Denver. In between, participants will walk Santa Fe and carpool to other locations, including V-Gallery, 4924 East Colfax Avenue, where a "peace cake" will be shared at 9 p.m. The stroll is free and open to the public, though WCA is requesting that those interested RSVP; call 720-272-3685 or log on to www.wcaco.org.
Saturday, May 3
Outdoor markets are blooming like tulips all over the metro area. One of our favorites, downtown Littleton's A Paris Street Market, kicks off its season today at a new location, moving from Main Street to the more spacious Arapahoe Community College parking lots, two blocks south at Church and Prince streets. The funky urban flea market, open from 8 to 2 the first Saturday of every month, rain or shine, begins today and continues through October 4. Over 95 vendors will be there, displaying a glorious trove of old and new retro and vintage fare. Admission is free, but arrive prepared to spend: There's stuff at this market you'll never see again if you don't snap it up now. Call 720-319-1570 or log on to www.aparisstreetmarket.com.
Denver old-timers can remember when the Artisan Center in Cherry Creek North was pretty much it if you were looking for a place to buy upscale crafts. But that was before an upstart cooperative, Show of Hands, opened its doors nearby, at the corner of Second Avenue and Clayton Street, twenty years ago (can it be?). Though it's changed with the times, Show of Hands is still going strong, offering a beautifully displayed mix of handmades in a variety of innovative media. Drop by today between 10 and 6 for a Twenty Years in Colorado celebration that features guest artists and snacks all day in the garden courtyard and big band Blue Swing Set providing live music. In addition, fiber appliqué artist Chris Roberts-Antieau will present fabric items from her 2003 collection, including a limited-edition anniversary T-shirt featuring her winsome "Dog Wearing Underpants" image. What more could you ask for? Call 303-399-0201 or log on to www.showofhandsdenver.com.
Sunday, May 4
Expect the music to be cool and sophisticated at today's Tribute to Fifties West Coast Jazz, an afternoon concert with some of the town's best players, including pianist Eric Gunnison, trumpeter Ron Miles, saxophonist Pete Sommers, bassist Mark Simon and drummer Paul Romaine. The mood-drenched sounds, as pioneered by Mulligan, Konitz, Baker and Getz in the '50s, begin at 2:30 at First Universalist Church, 4101 East Hampden Avenue; for tickets, $10 in advance ($12 at the door), call 303-759-2770.
The Colorado Country Music Hall of Fame is inviting all country-Western hoofers to a Rocky Mountain Roundup this afternoon from 2 to 7 at the Lakewood Elks Lodge #1777, 1455 Newland Street, Lakewood. The shindig features live tunes by Renegade and Lee Sims and the Platte River Band. Several teams of dance instructors will be on hand to run you through the steps for a variety of dance styles, including partner dancing, ghost dancing, line dancing, swing dancing and more. Admission is free, but donations of new or used children's books will be accepted for local children's charities. You can handle that, can't you? In the words of Hank Williams, "Move it on over." Call 303-238-1307.
Monday, May 5
Guitarist Johnny Marr provided the rocking backdrop for frontman Morrissey during the Smiths' groundbreaking run through the 1980s, and he left a trail of instrumental admirers in his wake. After a quiet decade or so, Marr's back, front and center, with his own band, the Healers, a crack ensemble that includes drummer (and Ringo progeny) Zak Starkey and bassist Alonsa Bevan of Kula Shaker. Marr's new CD, Boomslang, is garnering acclaim at this very moment. Marr rocks on tonight at 8 at the Fox Theatre, 1135 13th Street, Boulder; for tickets, $21, call 303-443-3399 or 303-830-TIXS.
Tuesday, May 6
Are all those reality shows bumming you out? We'll reserve judgment on whether or not it's a good thing, but public television is getting in the act with its own twists on the formula. One of them, Warrior Challenge, a time-warping, historically based battle show focusing on combat specialists through the ages, premieres locally tonight at 9 with an episode titled "Gladiators." You guessed it -- eight, um, volunteer "gladiators" duke it out in a modern-day arena, but not before learning the tricks of the trade, Roman style. Future installments focus on Vikings, medieval knights, Roman centurions and the like; they air weekly on Tuesdays on KRMA-TV/Channel 6. And who knows? It might just become the new BattleBots!
Wednesday, May 7
The Denver Center Theatre Company winds up its season with a restaged and unredoubtable classic: Jean-Baptiste Molière's 300-year-old farce Scapin or The Con Artist, newly translated and adapted by DCTC stalwart Nagle Jackson. Reset in sunny Naples in the nineteenth century, the production features Cameron Fomar in the title role (a comic character originally performed by Molière himself). Audiences can get a sneak peek tonight for nada at a Free for All performance at 6:30; shows continue daily, except Sundays, through June 7 at the Stage Theatre, 14th and Curtis streets. Admission ranges from $26 to $35 for previews (tomorrow through May 14) and $33 to $46 thereafter; call 303-893-4100 or log on to www.denvercenter.org.
