HubArts.com

Neil Diamond Esplanade info, then the weekend off

The Globe I read at coffee this morning had an excellent info box this morning with everything you'd want to know about attending the Boston Pops July 4 Fireworks Spectacular on the Esplanade with guest Neil Diamond, but it doesn't seem to be anywhere on Boston.com that I can find. Judging by the volume of search traffic coming here to read the Diamond announcement, a lot of you are googling for info, though. The basics are here. (Bare facts for tonight's rehearsal are here.) And everything you want to know should be on the July 4 committee site. One online method of communication appears to have gone dead, though; Pops conductor Keith Lockhart hasn't tweeted since June 1. Myself, I'm not blogging again until Monday.

Commonwealth Shakespeare coming to a park near you

 ...if you live in downtown Boston, Dorchester or Quincy anyway. You may already know that Commonwealth Shakespeare Company will mount "The Comedy of Errors" July 31-Aug. 16 outdoors at the Parkman Bandstand on Boston Common. Let's just hope it stops raining by then - the company's annual outdoor production is one of the highlights of summer on the Common. But CSC will also mount a half-dozen performances around the city of "Shakespeare on Love," a 55-minute, family-friendly compilation of speeches, sonnets, scenes & songs. Dates and locations after the jump.

All arts staffers and boards should read this

I'm not a huge fan of the Huffington Post - Arianna being so big on not paying writers - but if you're in the arts business, especially the non-profit world, you should read Michael Kaiser's "Arts in Crisis" blog post and the comments it has drawn. Kaiser is President of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. His claim of only a 6 percent drop in arts funding seems small. But his points are good, even if he says "viscous" when he means "vicious." In a nutshell: "And what creates revenue for an arts organization? Good art supported by strong marketing. ... Cutting programming and marketing, the current favored strategy, therefore, ensures that future revenue will fall." Commenters seem to have a lot of experience on both sides of the question: "My position grew to include all bookkeeping and accounting, budgeting, graphic design and public relations, gallery management for three galleries, grants administration, human resources, fundraising, special events, arts education, a film series and facilities management. I was working 70-80 hours every week, made $40,000 a year, with no benefits." Yikes.

Thanks to the @amrep twitter feed for the tip.

It's organ-ic

Tonight at Symphony Hall there's a concert for organ and orchestra, featuring Boston Symphony Orchestra organist James David Christie with the New Philharmonia Orchestra conducted by Ronald Knudsen. That's just the first of four days of public concerts and recitals being held in conjunction with the American Guild of Organists regional convention. On Thursday night there's a recital by Diane Meredith Belcher at The First Church of Christ, Scientist, and on Friday a brass and organ program at Trinity Church. Also on Friday, Old South Church will host a showing of the 1926 silent film “Old Ironsides” with improvised organ accompaniment by Peter Krasinski. Tix for the  Symphony Hall program are $15-$35 and can be purchased by calling SymphonyCharge at 888-266-1200, online at www.bostonsymphonyhall.org, or at the box office. The Belcher recital is free, and tickets for the other two events will be available at the door 45 minutes before the start. All four programs begin at 8 p.m. For more details on the convention, click here.

MFA, Madonna, social media, vogueing, thunderstorms, oh my

Thanks to our ongoing weathertastrophe, the Museum of Fine Arts has postponed its big outdoor karaoke party from tomorrow to July 8 at 6:30 p.m. in front of the MFA’s grand façade on Huntington Avenue. The Boston debut of "Queen (A Portrait of Madonna)" by Candice Breitz, featuring 30 people singing to “Vogue,” will be projected on the front of the Museum. The Museum is hoping for a big crowd to vogue and sing along. And the exhibit will be free and open till 9:45 that night. "Queen" is part of a new exhibit, "Contemporary Outlook: Seeing Songs," opening at the MFA tomorrow and featuring a variety of international artists, "explores the inspiration visual artists have derived from music" in a variety of mediums. (It seems the MFA never tires of Herb Ritts.) In the interests of promoting it all, the MFA is stepping up its social media efforts on Facebook and has posted a Flickr set full of photos of museum staff and visitors striking vogue poses. That's Museum Director Malcolm Rogers and his executive assistant Ann Ghormley at right. Anyone else thinking caption contest?

Neil + Paul + A Day In The Life

I tweeted about this earlier. Joan Anderman just pointed to the video. Neil Young plays "A Day In The Life" at a London rock festival over the weekend. Then Sir Paul walks onstage. Awe. Some. Looks like Fenway is getting Macca on an upswing.

Good news is, Mass. Cultural Council gets $9.7M

Bad news is, that's down 23 percent from the current budget. Other bad news is, no money for the Cultural Facilities Fund.

Here's the release:

GOVERNOR APPROVES $9.7 MILLION APPROPRIATION FOR MCC
(Boston, MA) Governor Deval Patrick today signed a state budget that calls for an appropriation of $9.7 million for the Massachusetts Cultural Council (MCC) in fiscal year 2010, which begins July 1. This represents a 23.4% reduction from the 2009 appropriation of $12.65 million.

"America's Biggest Asshole": Reality TV reaches its apotheosis

And, of course, there's a casting call right here in Boston! Yes, Boston Casting is seeking contestants for a new Spike TV reality show called, with coy asterisks that I choose to ignore, "America's Biggest A**hole." The pitch asks if you irritate perfect strangers, are quick on your feet, like practical jokes. "EVEN THOUGH SOME PEOPLE THINK YOU ARE HYSTERICAL, DO YOU HAPPEN TO PISS A LOT OF PEOPLE OFF?" If so, you can attend the open call at Boston Casting, 129 Braintree St., on July 13, 10 a.m.-4 p.m., or at Red Sky, Faneuil Hall, on July 15, 6-9 p.m. They had to have one in a bar, of course, because some people just don't become raging assholes until they've had a few drinks. And if neither of those times are convenient for you, asshole, e-mail a photo, contact information and a few lines about why you should be on the show to Julie@bostoncasting.com. It's 18+. Googling for show information, I came across a lot of posts about Rush Limbaugh and Mitt Romney, and also a funny post from this weekend describing how some poor young woman was trying to recruit assholes for the show in the parking lot before a baseball game in Chicago.

Salem Theatre Company offers free "Underpants" to NSMT subscribers

Add the Salem Theatre Company to the list of groups trying to get a share of the thousands of theatergoers disenfranchised by the closing of the North Shore Music Theatre. The STC is offering nearly 50 free tickets for subscribers of the NSMT to the STC's upcoming production of Steve Martin’s “The Underpants.” The STC will make a half-dozen tickets per show available free to NSMT subscribers on a first-come-first-serve basis, one per subscriber. Blackout dates include opening night. Interested? Send an email to info@salemtheatre.com or call (978) 790-8546.  Proof of NSMT subscription must be shown the day of the performance to collect the tickets. Oh, and if the freebies are unclaimed 12 hours before the performance, they may sell them. Steve Martin’s adaptation of “The Underpants” by Carl Sternheim runs July 16 – Aug. 2 at the First Church in Salem. Regular tickets are $20 for adults.

Jason Aldean plays Brockton

Paul McCartney plays Fenway in August. Country star Jason Aldean will play Campanelli Stadium in Brockton, the minor-league ballpark that has hosted Bob Dylan and other stars. Now riding the charts with his "Wide Open" album and "Big Green Tractor" single, Aldean will twang it up at Campanelli on Aug. 12 with opening acts Jimmy Wayne and Dean Brody.  Tix, $29.50 and $47.50, go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at the box office,  www.rockonconcerts.com,  www.ticketweb.com,  by phone at 1-866-468-7619..

311 reschedules for Monday

A power outage killed the show by 311 and Ziggy Marley at the Comcast Center in Mansfield on Wednesday night. LiveNation just announced the show has been postponed until this Monday. All tickets will be honored then, but refunds are still available at point of purchase.

Shepard Fairey returns to the ICA, with Chuck D

The last time Shepard Fairey was supposed to rock the house at the ICA/Boston, on his opening night in February, he got arrested. The legal case over his postering the city goes on. But Fairey (left) will make another attempt to spin the wheels of steel at the ICA on July 31, a couple of weeks before the "Shepard Fairey: Supply and Demand" exhibit closes to move to the Andy Warhol Museum in Pittsburgh. He's coming for "Obey Experiment REDUX," a major-league bomp-sh-bomp from 9 p.m. to 1 a.m., which will find attendees taking in the exhibit, including his iconic "Obama Hope" poster, and hitting the dance floor while Fairey plays DJ with the help of collaborator Z-Trip and guest Chuck D. Bringing along a member of Public Enemy to the city where Fairey was celebrated and handcuffed on the same night seems like an obvious in-joke.

"Supply and Demand" has the ICA's most popular exhibition since its 2006 opening. "Attendance has reached nearly 100,000, and will likely go on to become one of the highest-attended exhibitions of any contemporary art museum in the United States this year," the ICA says. Perhaps more importantly, the exhibit "has surpassed all our aspirations for audience, debate and diversity," said director Jill Medvedow.

The graffiti bust hasn't been the only controversy, of course. Fairey has also been criticized both substantively (for appropriated images) and stylistically (has he cashed his street cred?). The $125 VIP lounge tickets to Obey Experiment REDUX (open bar - light snacks - meet the artist) will not silence the naysayers. Regular tix are $35, and memebrs get discounts on both. The bash is 21+. Tix: Tickets at www.icaboston.org or 617-478-3103.

Morning reading

The release came last night: Paul McCartney at Fenway Aug. 5 + 6. No prices yet, but tix go on sale Monday at 10 a.m. at livenation.com, at the Orpheum box office or at 1-800-514-3849. No tickets will be sold at Fenway Park. We saw the show at the Garden several years back and it was surprisingly terrific. ... Turns out a great photographer known for his work on Coney Island now lives just up the road from HubArts HQ. Big Red & Shiny has an interview. ... I've also been meaning to send you to Greg's review of the DeCordova's "Old, Weird America" exhibit. A few miles in the other direction, Adam Sandler has taken over Woodman's to film his new movie, clam-blocking the locals. There's deets on Mass. movie industry mania at the Loaded Gun and at Hollywood East. ... Boys night out for "Hangover" last night. We laughed a lot but it was no "Superbad."

World Music/CRASHarts announces fall schedule

World Music/CRASHarts will offer Boston debuts by three groups during the fall season announced today. That's music and dance from the Solomon Islands' Narasirato Pan Pipers at the Somerville on Oct. 2, Indian pop superstar Kailash Kher and his seven-piece band Kailasa on Nov. 13 at the Somerville Theatre, and contemporary dance from  Trey McIntyre Project (right) Nov. 20-22 at the ICA. Also on the bill are rock from Dirty Three and Mirah, folk from Steeleye Span and Richard Shindell, and martial arts from China's Shaolin Warriors at the Orpheum. Tickets are onsale now at (617) 876-4275 or www.WorldMusic.org. Complete schedule is after the jump. (Picture: Jonas Lundqvist)

BSO lays off 10 due to endowment drop

The Phoenix reports that the Boston Symphony Orchestra has laid off 10 fulltime staffers, including four in the marketing/press department. BSO Managing Director Mark Volpe says in a statement:  “Like other cultural institutions nationwide, the BSO is facing serious challenges due to this past year’s economic downturn, including a substantial decline in the value of the orchestra’s endowment,” said BSO Managing Director Mark Volpe.  “In the course of confronting these challenges, the BSO found it necessary to reduce its full time work force by 5.3%.  The BSO remains committed to maintaining its financial equilibrium, while pursuing its mission as one of the leading orchestras in the world.”

Downsized Boston Folk Festival announces lineup

  Dar Williams will headline the scaled-down 2009 Boston Folk Music Festival at UMass Boston on Sept. 12-13. Among other performers this year are Jill Sobule, Jake Amerding, Michael Tarbox, and Cape Cod band Tripping Lily. But no one on the bill has the wide draw of past headliners like Bruce Cockburn or Emmylou Harris. And all the performances will be indoors.

"We really didn't think there was going to be a Boston folk fest this year," fest director and WUMB-FM General Manager Pat Monteith told the audience for Jay Moberg's morning show. In 11 years, the fest has never broken even, she said, and organizers thought, "with the economy, we just can't do this." But hundreds of folk fans thought otherwise, which convinced them to try the slimmed-down event, Monteith said.

Performances will be held in three venues at UMass: Lipke Auditorium in the Science Building; Snowden Auditorium, Wheatley Building; Ryan Lounge, McCormack Building. The size of the venues means that the festival can only sell one-third as many tickets as its previous lowest attendance, Monteith said, so you'd better get your tickets early. But the process is a little confusing. All the details are after the jump. (Pictured: Dar Williams.)

Art New England acquired

The nearly 30-year-old visual arts journal Art New England has been acquired by the Boston-based media group behind local editions of Playbill. New Venture Media Group LLC, based in the Fort Point neighborhood, also publishes the bi-weekly visitors' magazine Panorama and operates a theatrical development and producing subsidiary, New Venture Entertainment LLC, in partnership with a Korean investment group with offices in Seoul and Tokyo. Recent projects include the Tony-nominated Broadway musical "Cry-Baby" and last fall's South Korean tour by the Boston Ballet. President & Publisher Omi Rajpal has moved on, but editor since 2006 Ellen Howards appears to be staying on. The magazine will move offices from Brighton to Fort Point, and an expanded web presence is promised.

Boston Folk Festival news tomorrow

Tuesday morning at 9, WUMB-FM (91.9)'s Jay Moberg will announce the lineup for the 2009 Boston Folk Festival on the air. Tix go on sale at that moment as well, but the web site has yet to post any info on where or how much they'll co$t. Plans for the Sept. 12 & 13 event call for a Saturday night songwriting contest and multiple stages all day Sunday. But this year's festival is indoors at UMass Boston, so getting your tix early may be more of a concern than it has been in the past. No rush trying to find out deets today, though; the listed phone number for info - (617) 287-6911 - still has a recorded message about getting tix for the 2008 festival.

Rainy Monday morning reading

If you were too depressed by rainy weather and Iranian oppression to come out from under the covers yesterday, well, I'm down with that. But you might want to read Geoff's Sunday recap of the North Shore Music Theatre collapse. There was also a Globe North story going into more details on something we've reported here: the efforts by other area theaters to pick up NSMT subscribers. And since we're doing a North Shore thing, Smee loved the Dutch seascapes at the Peabody Essex. ... For your listening pleasure - and if you're still in bed today, totally understandable - all this week WGBH is broadcasting interviews and music from the Boston Early Music Festival (scroll down).

Budget bringing pain to Mass. Cultural Council

In a $27.4 billion budget, a couple of million either way doesn't seem like much. But the Mass. Cultural Council is looking at a 23 percent cut, to $9.7 million, and in a year when towns and cities face 15 percent cuts in local aid for things like fire and police, it may be a tough year for the arts to get heard. Greg breaks down the numbers here; MCC funding in the conference committee budget that's being voted on today and likely sent to the governor's desk is down $2 million from the senate proposal of just a few weeks ago. If you're wondering what all this means to local arts groups, check out our posts on recent grant rounds from the MCC and connected bodies here and here and see if your favorite organization got any money. Odds are they'll get less - or nothing - this year.

Summer Revels move to Watertown

Tomorrow brings the Revels SummersDay celebration. But the City of Boston didn't come across with any funding this year, so the group has a new partnership with arsenalArts. And tomorrow's 3 and 7 p.m. shows will be inside - and then outside - the Charles Mosesian Theater at the Arsenal Center for the Arts in Watertown. At the 3 p.m. show only, the Revels cast will include folksinging sister act The Nields (right) for the first time. Also on the bill are Brian O'Donovan, host of "A Celtic Sojourn" on WGBH-FM, and 18-year-old baritone John Castillo, a student at the Perkins School for the Blind, among many others. David Coffin hosts. The festivities end with the usual communal march, this time out the doors of the theater for Morris and sword dancing and a Maypole. Reserved seating, $25 for adults and $15 for children 11 and under. Tix at www.ArsenalArts.org, at 617-923-8487 or the box office.