Welcome to Smile Politely’s weekend source of sweetness and light:
FRIDAY
Start your weekend with some good old-fashioned misanthropy: The Penny Dreadful Players are presenting Neil LaBute’s The Shape of Things at the Gregory Hall Theatre (Room 112, 810 S. Wright St., Urbana) tonight and Saturday night at 8 p.m. Tickets are $5 at the door.
Melted cheese….mmmmmm: Ok, so we’re not big enough to justify a Melting Pot restaurant here in C-U, but that shouldn’t stop you from getting a fondue fix. Your choices are apparent: head to the Krannert Center District and hit up The Bread Co. for and nice mix of emmenthaler and gruyere cheeses for just $12 or ignore the strange location and head into Lincoln Square where Eighty Eight Broadway serves it up, as well. Stay for the dueling pianos at your own risk: those places usually attract… um… asshats.
Celebrate with the Underpaid: OK. We don’t really care for the name at all. In fact, it’s downright offensive, depending on who you are speaking with, but recording, mixing and mastering a record is worthy of our praise. Underpaid Packy celebrates the release of their second long player tonight at Canopy Club for an early show. Cover is just $3.
And if you are feeling funky: you can stay at Canopy for the late show, featuring The Nappy Roots. It’s a brand of hip-hop and rap that can’t really be defined. Or can it?
SATURDAY
So it begins: So what if you can’t buy as many baked goods this year? Market at the Square begins again on Saturday and we’re thrilled. Look for us at the Smile Politely booth on various weekends throughout the Summer. Stop by and we’ll give you one of our delicious Jim Roberts Special Swine Flu brownies. Yum!
And he doesn’t look a day over 475: If you missed the same event Friday at 3 p.m. at the Manuscripts and Rare Books Collection room a UIUC’s Main Library, then celebrate the 500th anniversary of the birth of John Calvin at First Presbyterian Church of Urbana from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. From the announcement: “Noted John Calvin scholar Donald K. McKim, Ph.D., will lead a series of discussions on John Calvin and his importance for Christians in the 21st century.”
Puff puff pass homie: The annual Million Marijuana March is on Saturday at the corner of Green and Wright streets in campustown. Be sure to bring a roach or two and get ready to throw down for a very important isse for the next generation, if you can muster the energy.
Eat a strange Indian burrito: Champaign Taste, one of many local food blogs in C-U, reviewed the newest addition to the campus dining scene: Zyggyz. And while we agree with her review on the flavor of the food, we also think that loud Indian music is just the ticket to getting the full experience at a place like this. Evidently, the spiciness and loud music aren’t for the faint of heart, but we also fully endorse this new place. Cheggit.
SUNDAY
Don’t wear sandals, try to avoid the scandals: Check out the Bob Dylan Cover Fest at Exile on Main Street, starting at noon. It’s free! Here’s the lineup (check the Bob Dylan Day website for what songs they’re performing):
12:10: Carl Hauck
12:25: Matt Klomparens
12:40: Angie Heaton
12:55: Jonathon Childers
1:20: Lucky Mulholland
1:45: Post Historic
2:10: Ryan Groff
2:35: Zmick
3:00: Sunset Stallion
3:25: Girls Next Door
3:50: Stan McConnell
4:15: Jake Fleischll of Tractor Kings
4:45: Brian McGovern
Test the timbre of your heart: Joe Pug is getting a good amount of airplay and buzz for Nation of Heat and “Hymn 101,” and he’ll be playing at Canopy Club at 9 p.m. He was among the first batch of Pygmalion acts announced, but why wait until September? Tickets are eight bucks in advance for this ‘un. Oh, and we’re probably supposed to say “Dylanesque,” too. Almost forgot.