This week in T-Vegas.

The Bama Art House film series is a rip-roaring success, with a packed house for the first two films. If you haven't made it out yet, maybe this Tuesday is your night - "Black Dynamite" is gonna come up into your crib and crack your ass up. The drink special at the Bama Bar is Colt 45. Nuff said. Dig the trailer below, if you must...

The other cool happening is a fundraiser for PieLab. PieLab is a unique community space and pie shop located in Greensboro. Their idea is to encourage conversation among a diverse population by offering something that EVERYBODY loves: pie. They are a breath of fresh air in west Alabama and the mingling of community building with sleek design is just something you don't expect to see in one of the more impoverished counties in Alabama. I highly recommend a visit to their shop, and, if nothing else, at least click here for a virtual visit.

On Thursday night PieLab will hold a fundraiser in collaboration with UA's Creative Campus. The tickets are $10/$5 for students. The fully stocked Bama Bar will be on hand should you get thirsty, and pie will abound throughout the Greensboro Room. The featured musical attraction is Amy Stroup, who will play a brief set on the main stage. The theme is "Black Tie Pie" and you're encouraged to dress to the nines. Or jeans. Either way, be there to support this great organization.

Buy tickets through Crimson Arts Tickets here, and visit the event on the Facebook here.

BAMA ART HOUSE.

Big things are afoot at our humble little theatre. It looks as though the Bama is trying its damndest to become an honest to goodness art house theatre. They're doing so slowly - so as not to upset the natives - but what they're doing could change the very fabric of this humble little burg. I mean, art house films in Tuscaloosa!? We've got THIRTEEN FREAKING NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS AND FOREIGN LANGUAGE FILMS!!!??? Can these two things exists simultaneously without fear of the whole foundation of the known universe ripping to shreds!!?

This humble blogger thinks yes.

The Bama Art House Series, the first in what looks to be a recurring series, is going to bring six independent and foreign films to the Bama Theatre - projected on film, no less - for six consecutive Tuesdays starting next Tuesday, January 19th. These are some fine freakin' films, too. And the ticket prices? $30 for the entire series for adults, $20 for students. That's like paying $5 a film for adults and $3.34 for students. Those are 1986 movie prices. Visit the Bama Art House website on the internets, or become their friend on the Facebook to learn more about the films, watch trailers, read reviews, and buy tickets. Here are the six films:

MOON................................1/19, 8pm
BRIGHT STAR...................1/26, 8pm
BLACK DYNAMITE.............2/2, 8pm
STILL WALKING.................2/9, 8pm
YOU, THE LIVING..............2/16, 8pm
IN THE LOOP.....................2/23, 8pm

Get your tickets sooner than later. This is the real deal, people. The kind of culture we've all been waiting for. Now we just need a decent restaurant, a coffee shop without a TV, and bookstore...

Judd & Maggie | Bama Theatre | 1/14, 7pm | $5

Fantastic singer/songwriter duo, Judd & Maggie make a trip to the Greensboro Room of the Bama Theatre this Thursday night. From their bio:

Originally from Baltimore, MD Judd and Maggie have been writing and recording together since 2003 when they released their 1st record, Concentrate. In 2005 they were signed with RCA/Victor Records and Chrysalis Publishing and spent the next two years touring the country and promoting their record Subjects, recorded in Cello Studios (Hollywood, CA) with Lenny and Joey Waronker producing. Lenny has produced greats such as Randy Newman, Rickie Lee Jones, and Rufus Wainwright. His son Joey has drummed for hundreds of artists, notably Paul McCartney, REM, and Beck.

Judd and Maggie have toured with Glen Phillips, Feist, Michael Penn, Evan Dando, and Derek Webb.

In 2007 they moved to Nashville and recorded Kingdom of Noise with producer Neilson Hubbard. Since releasing that record independently and touring, they have also signed with Media Creature Publishing. 2009 finds them recording their new LP A Little Confidence and touring the country.

Come out and hear this wonderful band - supported by Tuscaloosa's own Sparrow & The Ghost.

Dig Judd & Maggie at this link here, and Sparrow & The Ghost at this link here. Also, video below...

SANTACON | Friday 12/11 | Starting at Downtown Pub

It's that annual ritual you love so much - the yearly running of the Santas. Come make some yuletide cheer with a bunch of drunk adults wearing Santa costumes. Yeah, that's the way we roll. Here's the details from our friends over at SantaCon headquarters:

Classic Santa pub-crawl. Meeting at 7:30 at the The Downtown Pub (2427 University Boulevard) from there we will proceed from bar to bar until we either pass out or last call, probably the latter.

-Everyone has to dress up
-Santa is the preferred costume, but elves and Ms. Claus are also exceptable
-Everyone will have a good time (guaranteed fun, how can you pass up on that?)

If you haven't participated in the past you have probably seen a drunken horde of Santas and maybe a few elves pub-crawlin' thru the streets of Tuscaloosa. Doesn't that sound like a good time?

" The F's of Santacon:
--> Don't f*ck with kids: Santa spreads cheer. Period.
--> Don't f*ck with cops: Arrest = not fun.
--> Don't f*ck with security: Don't steal. Don't vandalize. Security will tell the cops it was the guy dressed like Santa. And that's all of us, jackass.
--> Don't f*ck with Santa: We're here to have a good time."
- Nick F*cking Rymer

That last one is vitally important. See you all there, Santas.

Shake Yer Ass for Bikes | Nov 18, 10pm | Egans

Bikes are a good thing. And there ain't enough bike awareness in this here town. So what's a bloke to do? Throw an insane dance party, that's what.

A new group of cyclists in town have started up a little Facebook page called "i bike tuscaloosa," and they're trying to raise some money to create some maps of bike friendly routes throughout the city. If you've ever ridden a bike through this town, you've no doubt been pelted with various and sundry things and honked at by people who think riding a bike is tantamount to proposing death panels and trying to socialize medicine. The dance party, ass-shake-a-thon will be a fundraiser for their efforts to start changing all of this.

We'll have more about this event next week (including details about a possible mass ride from capital park to Egans), but in the meantime, visit them on the Facebook HERE and become a fan. They're a fan of you!

BWR AUCTION | Little Willies | Nov 12th, 7pm | LASER! DECADENCE!

OMG! BLACK WARRIOR REVIEW AUCTION IS BACK!!! From our friends over at the lit mag's headquarters:

THE BLACK WARRIOR REVIEW
**ULTIMATE LASER DECADENCE PARTY + AUCTION**

Come out and support local art at the 2009 BWR Auction on Thursday, November 12th at Little Willie's! Help make it possible for us to continue to publish the best in contemporary literature.

Doors will open at 7:00pm for the Silent Auction. At 7:15, we'll have fantastic live poetry and prose from Barbed Wire Reading Series readers Marsha McSpadden, Shanti Weiland, Jessica Fordham Kidd and special guest Michael Martone.

Come early to peruse the goods, enjoy the wine and the reading, and get ready for the Live Auction at around 8:30 p.m., featuring a smorgasbord of donations from Alabama artisans, farmers, businesses and writers. This year will also feature exciting donations from small presses and journals from the literary community around the country.

There will be half-price wine ALL EVENING LONG! Ultimate! Decadent! There will also be drink and prize raffles throughout the evening! Everyone can win.

Remember, the theme is ULTIMATE LASER DECADENCE, so dress to complement the laser. Need inspiration? Go to our Flickr page: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jgropphess or visit our Facebook event page under "Black Warrior Review Auction."

If you have questions, please contact Jenny Gropp Hess, BWR Managing Editor, at jgh.bwr@gmail.com. Otherwise, we anticipate seeing you there in full laser decadence mode!

KENTUCK! | This Weekend | 9-5 | Kentuck Park, Northport

Here's a reason to live in Tuscaloosa: Kentuck. One of the country's largest folk arts festivals, featuring hundreds of artists, a half-dozen bands, and funnel cakes. Yes, funnel cakes. So come get your outsider art groove on while digging on some acoustic old-time music and munching on the fried staples of carnie cuisine. Regulars like Standard Deluxe, Amos Paul Kennedy, Charlie Lucas, Lonnie Holley, and the Sloss Furnace Metal workers will be out in full force, along with a slew of new emerging artists. And the musical acts both days are promising too - featuring, among others, Elliot McPherson of the Dexateens in a solo act, and The Archibalds, described, quite aptly, as "a mix of southern rock with cajun flourishes, a shade of Muscle Shoals' R&B soul, and experimental folk." Full details here, and the musical lineup is as follows - including links to artists' pages.

The weather will be swell, and I can taste the fried meat on a stick and Turkey legs already...

Saturday 10/17/2009 ACT Time Website Little Country Giants 11:00 AM www.littlecountrygiants.com Shotgun Party 12:30 PM www.shotgunfiesta.com Erin Mitchell Band 2:00 PM www.erinmitchellband.com Elliott McPherson 3:30 PM www.dexateens.net Sunday 10/18/2009 ACT Time Website Michael Manring 11:00 AM www.michael-manring.com The Archibalds 12:30 PM thearchibaldsmusic.com Henri's Notions 2:00 PM www.henrisnotions.com Sunpie Barnes 3:30 PM www.sunpieonline.com

Richie Havens | Thursday Oct 15th | 8pm | BAMA Theatre

This summer marked the 40th anniversary of the Woodstock Festival. Marked by a few Boomer reminiscences in various media and by a sentimental film from Ang Lee called "Taking Woodstock," the anniversary slipped by us in the Druid City without a proper acknowledgment. Well, all that's about to change.

Next week, the BAMA Theatre will be showing the two-part Woodstock documentary on Tuesday and Wednesday night in anticipation for Thursday night's main event - a performance by the legendary Richie Havens.

If you've never heard of Richie Havens, it's time to start some Googling. Havens opened Woodstock and ended up playing for nearly three hours straight. The other performers who were scheduled to come on after him were stuck in traffic getting to the venue, so with his solo guitar he continued to play song after song. The strength of his performance - and the fact that toward the end of his set he improvised a song called "Freedom," which became seen as the anthem for the 60s - helped him launch a recording career that continues today. His live shows are legendary. I was fortunate enough to see him about ten years ago at a festival in Colorado, and I still remember the vibrancy of his show and the electricity in the crowd. It's a coup to get him here at the BAMA, and we should do all we can to support events like this in the Druid City. Below, find a clip from the Woodstock Documentary from Richie's performance of "Freedom." And, make sure you hurry and get your tickets today.

Don't forget to start the celebration our right by seeing the Woodstock Documentary on Tuesday and Wednesday night! Projected in Hi-Definition with the revamped (and marvelous sounding) sound system. It'll rock your socks off!

UPDATE: Friday's Tusk will have an interview with Richie Havens!

BUY TICKETS HERE

Spring Creek Bluegrass | Wednesday Oct 7 | 8pm | BAMA Theatre

Come see the band Spring Creek Bluegrass tonight in the Greensboro Room of the BAMA at 8pm. For a measly $5 you can hear this great young bluegrass band, hailing from Lyons, Colorado. Check out their website here to listen to some choice tracks. You won't be disappointed. They've been touring a lot recently to get their name out, even opening for bluegrass legends The Del McCoury Band. Support them as they pass through the Druid City. I'm sure they'd appreciate it, and you certainly will too.

The Alcove | Beer tasting | Thursday Oct. 1st | 8pm-till

Dare to dream, friends. Dare to dream.

It's no secret that many of us frequently wonder aloud about the deep dark chasm that we call this town. On no shortage of occasions we've thrown our hands into the air, after surveying the latest bit of news about the widening cultural gulf between our little college town and other little college towns, and said, "Well, I guess Tuscaloosa is just a shithole." In fact, it's become a strange kind of ritual of life here - something that makes you know you're really a Tuscaloosan. We've grown accustomed to the desultory mutterings of "screw-this-place-I-give-up-damn-I-hate-these-big-stupid-trucks-and-the-tempo-shorts-and-the-sunglasses-on-the-back-of-the-neck-now-lets-drink-some-whiskey-and-wish-we-were-somewhere-else." Indeed, it is our pathetic battle cry of defeat...

We ask ourselves the same questions, over and over again. How can a college town not have an independent bookstore? (Vexing, indeed.) Why do so many undergrads think riding a bike is "wimpy?" (A conundrum, no doubt.) How come the best mom & pop Mexican restaurant on the Strip - bordered by Mexican restaurants that PALE in comparison - had to shut its doors yesterday? (Makes you want to punch a hole in the wall, I know.) And speaking of the Strip, how has the city allowed it to become the sandwich district and hawker of overpriced condos in gated communities? (Only three condo informational shops on one block!) And why, LORD, OH WHY! do we not have a non-smoking bar that caters to grown ups already?!!!!

Wait. What? We do?

Yes. The Alcove International Tavern. Like a beacon on a hill, like any other ridiculously half conceived metaphor symbolizing success and the feeling of elation and overjoy. Yes. We now have a non-smoking bar, and it's pretty, well, fabulous. The place cares about good beer, it's small and homey, it's got a great happy hour, generous pours on liquor, a friendly staff and owner interested in hearing your ideas for the place, and - so far at least - not a big truck or tempo short in sight. But we must be vigilant. That is why I propose that we all descend upon the place tonight, at 8pm. The Alcove recently started serving Good People Beer and Michael, one of the brewers from Good People, will be there tonight to offer a beer tasting. You'll be able to sample the wares of our neighbors to the north - one of the best young breweries in the Southeast, without a doubt. And you'll be able to revel in the Alcove - maybe even rekindle a feeling that, hey, this place ain't that bad!

Maybe that's too much to ask. At least you can share a beer with friends. The DCDC used to bring out a huge crowd a year or so back - interesting people frustrated with the limited social options in this town. Lets have another shot at it. We'll see you all tonight at the Alcove...

Website here and directions here.