Dog and Puppy Beginner Obedience Classes
ETC
Put down that rolled-up newspaper and don’t even think about rubbing your puppy’s nose in the dooky — there’s a better way to handle the situation. Whether you have a new puppy or an older dog whose bad habits seem impossible to break, the Friends of the Dearborn Animal Shelter (FDAS) may be able to help you. FDAS obedience classes will teach simple commands like "sit," "down," "stay," "walk" and "potty," and will also instruct owners on how to effectively (and humanely) confine canines to a dog crate as part of their obedience training. This six-week course takes place on Wednesdays beginning June 8, at the Dearborn Animal Shelter, 2661 Greenfield Rd., Dearborn; 313-643-2697. (Call for times; they vary depending on the age of your dog.)
Thursday-Sunday • 9-12
Cabaret
THEATER
Directed by Chris O’Brien, the Ann Arbor Civic Theatre presents the happily salacious musical, Cabaret. The classic production takes place in the Kit Kat Club in 1930s Berlin. The story revolves around two doomed relationships: cabaret goddess Sally Bowles and American novelist Cliff Bradshaw; and Berliner Fraulein Schneider and Herr Schultz, a German Jew. When the artistic and social licentiousness of the Weimar Republic goes head-to-head with the rise of Nazism, things heat up. 8 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday, Lydia Mendelssohn Theatre, 911 N. University, Ann Arbor; 734-971-2228.
Wednesday • 15
30 Days
TRANSMISSIONS
Flush with success from 2004’s surprise-smash fast-food exposé, Super Size Me, director Morgan Spurlock wants to continue rattling the powers-that-be. Now Spurlock looks to enhance his claim to the title of America’s favorite rabble-rouser with a new hour-long documentary series premiering this week. In 30 Days, Spurlock challenges himself and others to be human guinea pigs, spending a month in other people’s shoes. The debut finds Spurlock and his girlfriend trying to live off of a $5.15 minimum hourly wage. Later episodes include a conservative "red stater" moving to San Francisco’s famous gay Castro District, and a devout Christian living among the Muslim community in Dearborn. Maybe the revolution will be televised after all. Premieres 10 p.m. Wednesday, June 15, on the FX Network.
Friday • 10
Hamtramck Redneck Rodeo
MUSIC/PARTY
It’s not really a rodeo, but when you live in the Motor City, a mechanical bull, sots in shit kickers and a Vinnie Dombrowski-fronted country band is about as cowboy as you’re going to get. All trails lead to the Hamtramck Redneck Rodeo this week, where bar owner Cathy Gordon will supply the vittles — barbecue, Sloppy Joes and chicken wings. Orbitsuns and the Dead String Brothers will kick out the twangy jams. We aren’t kidding about the mechanical bull. At New Dodge, 8850 Joseph Campau, Hamtramck; 313-874-5963.
Saturday • 11
Blair & Friends @ the DSO
MUSIC/POETRY
As part of the Detroit Festival of the Arts’ "after hours" programming, hometown slam poet, musician and activist Blair will rock the Max. Dishing a welcome supply of his signature quick wit, empathetic soul and unapologetic style, Blair will be joined by J. Scott Franklin and percussionist Craig Huckaby for an evening of spoken word, free-form music and thought-provoking fun. 11 p.m. at the Max M. Fisher Music Center,3711 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-576-5100. $7 per person, or $5 with Festival of the Arts badge.
Thursday • 9
Swing Out Sister
MUSIC
You’ll probably remember Swing Out Sister for 1987’s sugary-sweet hit, "Break Out," but there’s much more to this duo than a late-’80s club-kid ethos. Formed in 1985 in Manchester, England, by keyboardist Andy Connell and drummer Martin Jackson (both formerly of A Certain Ratio and Magazine), the band was quickly rounded off with the pop-soul trill mastery of Corrine Drewery. Now down to Connell and Drewery, their latest offering, Where Our Love Grows, is a languid combination of lounge, Latin, northern soul and jazzy rhythms — definitely an ’80s band worthy of a 2005 listen. At the Magic Bag, 22920 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-544-3030.
Tuesday • 14
Cut Fashion Show
FASHION
Local clothes designer Sarah Vidosh’s sexy-girly style is fresh, fun and simple — perfect for expressing your inner tease. This week, Vidosh and partner Leo Hanifin up the fabulous factor in Hamtramck with the Cut Fashion Show — a collaborative audiovisual fashion event intended to stir the senses. Joining the style council will be DJ Mikel Smith (of Detroit Threads) and his cohort Spinny. The Belmont, 10215 Joseph Campau, Hamtramck; 313-871-1966. No cover.
Wednesday • 15
Electroshockbox
MUSIC
Electroshockbox is Tron D — a theremin-playing, guitar-slinging singer-rapper with a sweet pimp style. The partly electronic act has the same sardonic sass as folks like Peaches and Har Mar Superstar, but this Tucson native brings the electroclash sensibility down to a DIY level. His most recent video, "Titties on My Back," is a guffaw-inducing shout-out to his ladies — and their mammary attributes. If he sounds ridiculous, it’s for good reason. The Lager House, 1254 Michigan Ave., Detroit; 313-961-4668.
Ongoing
Pop!
ART
One of the most impressive aspects of the Pop Art movement in the ’50s to the ’70s was its ability to eschew the pedantic ideals of so-called "high art" and hold a mirror up to the elitism and myopia it often encouraged. This summer, the University of Michigan Museum of Art presents Pop!, an exhibit of more than 100 pieces of artwork from Pop Art innovators such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Indiana, Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, Tom Wesselmann, Richard Hamilton, Ed Ruscha and Claes Oldenburg. 525 S. State St., Ann Arbor; 734-764-0395. Exhibit runs June 5-Sept. 25 with a curator’s talk on Sunday, June 12, at 3 p.m.
