21Q

Anthropologie

The long-awaited opening of a local Anthropologie store has finally arrived. The official ribbon-cutting ceremony took place today at the Fountains at Roseville, with Anthropologie being one of the first retailers to open its doors.

Yeah!

While Anthropologie has been around since 1992, our closest venues have been either Berkeley or San Francisco or the old reliable shopping destination, online.

I spoke with local boutique owner Barbara Lym, whose second Serendipity boutique is slated to debut at the Fountains next month. She attended today's festivities and says the stores that have opened - which also includes White House/Black Market, Chico's and Coldwater Creek apparel - "look great."

"I know a lot of people have been eager for stores like Anthropologie to open, so I know it will be very welcome."

"I can't wait to be among the retailers there," she adds. By the way, West Elm (home interiors) and Sur La Table (kitchen products) also are open for business. Other businesses will continue to roll out in the coming weeks and months.

Stay tuned.

Old Navy

OK, so this is short and sweet and to the feet: Tomorrow, all Old Navy flip flops - any color - are on sale for just $1! For one day only.

Hey, you could have yellow, red, purple, green and blue ones and have money left over for an ounce of gas.

There are multiple Old Navy locations to choose from. Just click here to find a store close to you.

KCRA

They're saying over at Channel 3 that this is a "long-awaited" event. I'll be the judge of that!

Anyway, KCRA sports director and all-around nice guy Del Rodgers (pictured) will have his bobblehead launched at Saturday night's River Cats game when the Cats take on the Tucson Sidewinders at 7:05 p.m. at Raley Field.

Del, a former NFL player and member of the 49ers' Super Bowl XXIII champion team, will actually hand out bobbleheads to the first 3,000 fans in attendance. He'll also throw out the first pitch and conduct the seventh-inning stretch.

What a team player!

Then, starting Sunday, the bobblehead will be available for purchase ($6.99 each) at the KCRA 3 Experience at Arden Fair.

Keep in mind: This is a limited-release item!

According to a well-placed source, Del is apparently is very proud of the fact that he finally has a bobblehead but is somewhat critical of its "bobbleness."

Anway, get to the game early so you don't miss out getting one for free. For more River Cats info, click here.

Turn off your mind, relax and float downstream with this week's "Sunday Single." We're featuring a psychedelic and intriguingly melodic track called "This Thing Called Life" from the Ancient Sons. This band is a local supergroup of sorts, featuring members of such favorite indie bands as Th' Losin' Streaks, Army of Trees and Rock the Light. And fans of the Brian Jonestown Massacre should definitely peep this track. It's a synthesis of sorts between 1960s psychedelia and the spacier side of modern alternative-rock. Far out!

THE ANCIENT SONS
Song: "This Thing Called Life"
Style: Indie-rock with a harmonious, psychedelic streak
Members: Chris Teichman (guitar/vocals), Brad Teichman (bass/drums), David Aslanian (guitar), Matt K. Shrugg (drums), Matt Maxwell (guitar), Justin Pine (tambourine, percussion)
Influences: Brian Jonestown Massacre, Spiritualized, Galaxie 500, Spacemen 3
Behind the song: "I got really sick as a kid," says Chris Teichman. "I had cancer and had to have a kidney removed when I was about one-and-a-half, but I got a new lease on life. This song is kind of centered around a boy's view of looking for hope and trying to grow. It's about hope and redemption."
See them: The Ancient Sons will perform an acoustic set at 5 p.m. Wednesday on LiveWire (Access Sacramento, Channel 17 for Comcast and SureWest cable subscribers).

Here's the player to hear "This Thing Called Life":

On the Web: www.myspace.com/theancientsons

Associated Press

OK, just when I was getting used to (and liking) Maria Sharapova's white diaphanous, pin-tucked tuxedo top and white shorts at Wimbledon, the former champ gets booted in a second-round shocker today at the racket of a 154th-ranked Russian named Alla Kudryavtseva.

Holy strawberries and cream!

This year's serving of "Breakfast at Wimbledon" has taken its fashion cues from the past. Just about every participant is sporting the traditional uniform of purity, i.e., white. And I thought Sharapova's interpretation of a feminine top with sporty shorts was one of the best.

Even Swiss star Roger Federer's cream-colored crested cardigan (white shirt and white shorts) is a noticeable departure from his usual dark tennis attire.

In other Wimbledon wardrobe notes: The Israeli flag decorates the tennis shoes of Israel's women's singles player Shahar Peer; Spain's Rafael Nada is also going all white, from his headband to his longer, cargo-style shorts; and Venus Williams of the U.S., wins today in a beautiful tennis dress with a keyhole, cross-tied neckline.

Just hope the cleaners have plenty of bleach on hand. This tournament has a ways to go.

Sacramento Bee file

The Park Ultra Lounge will be the setting for yet another fashion show - this one Thursday night.

Suede Salon & Spa is hosting a biggie featuring three top local designers - Dee Aguilar (pictured), Mercedes Ben and Casey Sue Douglass.

It's being touted as an evening full of fashion - coupled with a "hair extravaganza."

So, what are the fashion themes?

* Casey Sue will take on urban chic, colorful tailored garments for fall.

* Mercedes' Benzo line will feature a "Socialite" collection with dresses for both summer and fall.

* Dee is looking ahead to holiday cocktail dresses. But heck, you could still pull off her looks from now until December.

Tickets are $15 (you must be 21 or older) and are available at the salon, either the Sacramento (900 Fulton Ave.) or Folsom location (850 E Bidwell St., Suite 140).

Doors open at 9 p.m.; the show gets under way at 10:30. The Park Ultra Lounge is at 1116 15th St. downtown.

This weekend the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival takes its show down the road to the Fair Oaks Renaissance Tudor Fayre. The SSF will stage two of its 50 minute Shakespeare Lite productions, Scott Lynch-Giddings' "Robin Hood" and Shakespeare's "Much Ado About Nothing" on Saturday and Sunday.
SSF director Luther Hanson was interested in adapting "Robin Hood" himself until he found a fairly recent version by Lynch-Giddings.
"I contacted him and we're doing his short version at the Renaissance Fayre," Hanson said.
"We'll do the full length version next summer."
Hanson contacted Tudor Fayre producer Raelynn Debone about advertising the Sacramento Shakespeare Festival at the Fair Oaks event but she said "Why don't you come out and perform?"
So they are.
"It's the kind of performance they like have to out there so it's a really good match," Hanson said.
"Robin Hood" will be performed at 11 a.m. on Saturday and 2 p.m. on Sunday while "Much Ado About Nothing" plays at 2 p.m. on Saturday and 11 a.m. on Sunday.
The Fair Oaks Renaissance Tudor Fayre is located at Fair Oaks Park, on the corner of Fair Oaks and Madison. There's a free shuttle from the Bella Vista High School parking lot at 8301 Madison Ave. Tickets are $6 - $12 and available online at www.renaissance-rose.org

Say what? Huh? Sorry, I'm a little deaf in my right ear this morning. That's what I get for standing a little too close to the speakers at last night's epic Drive-By Truckers show at Empire. We're talking a three-guitar, Southern rock onslaught from a truly great American band. Drive-By Truckers hail from northern Alabama and their songs are populated with various ornery characters and a sense of small-town tenacity during tough economic times. Think of Drive-By Truckers as something like Lynyrd Skynyrd in the age of job outsourcing.

But most importantly, the Drive-By Truckers rock hard. So there was lots of hootin' and hollering during the band's set at Empire, which stretched past the two-hour mark and still didn't touch such gems as "Ronnie and Neil" (from the "Southern Rock Opera" concept album), "Do It Yourself" and "Feb. 14." The group's touring behind its latest album, "Brighter Than Creation's Dark," and a chunk of its set featured these newest songs. Some longtime Drive-By Truckers fans may have missed Jason Isbell, one of the group's key songwriters who left the band last year (BTW, don't miss Isbell's excellent solo album "Sirens of the Ditch.") So yeah, I missed hearing such Isbell penned tunes as "Outfit" and "Decoration Day," but Drive-By Truckers still roared like a nitro-powered Peterbilt in songs like "Sink Hole," "Marry Me" and "Lookout Mountain." The band played loud and loose - the bottles of Jack Daniels being passed around the stage was fuel for these Truckers - and Tuesday nights rarely rock like this.

Side note: Patterson Hood of the 'Truckers talked a couple times about someone from Sacramento who was "one of his favorite people in the world." Does anyone know who Patterson was talking about?

Anyway, that was one mighty show, even if my ears are paying for it. But that's the best kind of rock 'n' roll: the kind you can still feel the next day.

The Playwrights Collaborative at Chautauqua Playhouse has scored a double coup. Wednesday at their 7 p.m. meeting locally based professional playwrights Richard Broadhurst and Richard Hellesen will both be in attendance. Each has had works done around the country and will speak on the realities and difficulties of getting a play produced.
Hellesen is currently the literary manager for the B Street Theatre and recently had his short play "One Destiny" performed at the White House with First Lady Laura Bush in attendance. Broadhurst's drama "Resting Place" had its world premiere at the Sacramento Theatre Company in February.
Playwrights Collaborative, which has been existence for just over two months, hopes to be a resource for developing writers. Leo McElroy and Gary Agid lead the workshop and McElroy says he's looking for a "distilled respectful approach" to criticism that's adapted to current theater sensibilities. He says a committee selects the plays, which are read ahead of time so the people attending know what will be discussed.
Besides talking with writers Hellesen and Broadhurst, the short play "An Imperfect Child" by Frank Ingram and Mark Smith will also be read.
The Chautauqua Playhouse is located at 5325 Engle Road
For more information contact Gary Agid at gary@agid.com (916) 383-9267 or Leo McElroy at mcelcom@comcast.net (916) 564-0905.

Kate Spade

Nothing - not gas prices, not a sluggish economy - appears to stop commerce. Especially when it comes to fashion.

I've been keeping an eye on all the new stores either opened or soon to open at Arden Fair Mall. And then there's the Fountains at Roseville, which has its ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m. next Monday. There are quite a few new-to-the-area stores already in place.

* At Arden: The Bebe store has relocated and reopened in a much larger space next to the Coach flagship store. Bebe doubled the amount of merchandise, so that means more accessories. Lucky Brand Jeans (across from J.Crew) is set to open the end of this month with the usual assortment of cute tanks, hoodies and their signature jeans. Next month, look for designer Kate Spade's first Sacramento store. And no one does accessories - especially shoes, handbags and sunglasses - like Kate. Armani Exchange, also coming in July, will offer fashions for both men and women. Juicy Couture will join the mix in August, right across from Kate Spade. Expect the usual mix of tracksuits, handbags and, of course, the signature logo.

You can check what's coming, what's already opened and the Arden Fair store directory here.

* The Fountains: This is going to be one fab, upscale shopping destination. There will be an Anthropologie (apparel), Smith & Hawken (home and garden), West Elm (interior design) and Sur La Table (kitchen products) - all new to the area. Local boutique Serendipity will now have a second location as will Article salon and boutique. Foodies will get a new Whole Foods and Boudin Bakeries.

To see the Fountains' "floor plan," click here.

The Sacramento French Film Festival has confirmed the lineup for its 2008 event, to take place July 18-20 and July 26-27 at the Crest Theatre.

As always, the selections range from the humorous ("OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies," an espionage spoof opening the festival) to the scary (the psycho-horror midnight offering "High Tension"), and from the ground-breaking to the classic.

Put simply, this festival offers cinematic opportunities unavailable anywhere else in Sacramento, during any other time of year. Like the opportunity, at this year's festival, to see Truffaut's "The 400 Blows" on the big screen.

The festival still is a few weeks away, but the fun already has started with the promotional video shown above (via YouTube). It features key players from behind the scenes, including festival co-founders Cecile Downs -- and Connie Georgiou, as pals on their way to see a show.

(Spoiler alert: the stranger getting fresh with Downs actually is her husband, strong>John)

For the complete festival line-up, see festival's Web site

In this dog-eat-dog economic slump it helps to know people. People who can get you free stuff, that is.

Here's the deal, my buddy Ian - a former Bee employee, by the way - works for the Lied Center of Kansas which is the University of Kansas' performing arts center and is similar to UCD's Mondavi Center. Anyway, he tipped me off to a great iTunes giveway the center is sponsoring.

E-mail the powers-that-be at
lied@ku.edu to nab one of 50,000 iTunes cards good for 20 free songs.

It's not just any 20 songs, mind you. Rather, the card gets you 20 tunes by the likes of Phillip Glass, Laurie Anderson (pictured), the Soweta Gospel Choir, the Turtle Island String Quartet and Interpreti Veneziani.

They're all acts on the Lied Center's 2008-09 events calendar. Some of them, by the way, are also on Mondavi's calendar. Think of it as not just a great way to get free music - but also an opportunity to preview some of the performers visiting Davis this year (check out the Mondavi 2008-09 calendar here).

For more information, surf over to the Lied Center site.

Associated Press

With comedian George Carlin's passing on Sunday, I couldn't help but try to recall - from memory - his famous seven dirty words.

I couldn't.

I was still in high school when the whole hoopla about what you could and couldn't say on radio and TV was up for debate. There were no computers, no "Google" and no one in Martinsville, Va., would be caught dead saying those "words."

Right!

I heard at least three of them on a routine basis from the members of the football team!

Well, the whole debate eventually made it to the U.S. Supreme Court, and those judges decided in 1978 (five to four) that, yes, the seven "filthy words" were indeed pretty filthy.

As Carlin so famously uttered after the verdict: "They made up a whole new category of filth for me. It wasn't obscene -- indecent. And they said you can't play it when kids might listen."

Today, just an hour's worth of reality competition shows (on cable, of course) will expose viewers to the same three words I heard often in high school. At least one of the words has appeared in The Bee in reference to someone being upset with something or someone else. In its adjective form, it translates to P.O.'ed. Not quite the same word as Carlin had in mind, but close enough.

The other four words are still incredibly offensive, even to someone who has been known to drop a few foul utterances - under intolerable circumstances, of course.

So, even as we've progressed in our desire to maintain decorum and good taste, it was George Carlin who gave us some choice words to ponder a generation ago.

"Sunday Single" is big on bands that truly do something different, so we're happy to say that the Definite Articles have one of the most unique sounds around town. The members of Definite Articles are classical musicians by background, but bring their string instruments into an intriguing indie-pop setting. Check out the all of the cool melodies, plucking and bowing on "Elixirs," which you can hear down below.

THE DEFINITE ARTICLES
Song: "Elixirs"
Style: Indie-pop meets chamber music
Members: Shawn Alpay (vocals/cello), Jon Sung (violin), Arjun Singh (drums), Melody Mundy (viola)
Influences: Electric Light Orchestra, Sufjan Stevens, the Arcade Fire, Matt Pond PA.
Behind the song: "'Elixirs' was written about a girl who I could never quite admit that I had feelings for," says Alpay. "I wrote this song as a means of processing through that, where you're balancing between two different emotions, and you can't quite figure it out which way the seesaw will go. So I left the perspective of the lyrics vague. Are the words coming from me, or the girl? I suppose I still haven't figured it out, even now."
See them: July 12 at the Blue Lamp (1400 Alhambra Blvd.), with An Angle, Bridges and Bright Light Fever.

Here's the player to hear "Elixirs":

On the Web: www.myspace.com/thedefinitearticles

One of the topics that came up when I interviewed Jewel, who appears Saturday at the Sleep Train Amphitheatre with Brad Paisley (read my story here here) was the subject of women in music and what it was like for her when her debut album "Pieces of Me" was released in early 1995.

Alanis Morissette released her debut album "Jagged Little Pill" later that year and, Jewel, notes there were big differences in the way the two artists were received. For one, Jewel's sound was a soft folk-pop and, initially, radio stations wanted nothing to do with her.

"When I first started out Nirvana and Soundgarden were king and they wouldn't arrest a girl," Jewel says.

Then Morissette exploded on the scene with her first single "You Oughta Know."

"Alanis sounded like one of the guys - it was very angsty rock and I was just this sincere little songwriter - very traditional sounding," Jewel says. "Getting me on the radio was (still) heck. I couldn't get my first single, 'Who Will Save Your Soul" on the radio for 10 months."

Once she did make it on the radio, of course, Jewel did very well; she's sold more than 18 million records since the start of her career. But, she adds, being a woman in music during the mid-90s definitely had its downside.

Jewel's success, along with that of Morissette's and others such as Meredith Brooks, Jill Sobule and Hole's Courtney Love meant that most female musicians - regardless of their sound - got lumped in together.

And it was the women who came before them that paid the real price, Jewel says.

"It was insulting - there were so many great women that came before us and (the press) was trying to act as if we invented the concept of women in rock," she says.

"We didn't - Joni Mitchell and Carole King and Rickie Lee Jones came before us. And before that it was Josephine Baker and Etta James and Nina Simone - there were always these women who did amazing, revolutionary things with music."

Consider yourself schooled.

Bows and Arrows

Some somewhat sad fashion news to report today.

Business owner and all-around great gal Olivia Coelho e-mailed to say that she has decided to close her Olipom store in midtown.

As many shoppers will recall, Olivia lost her original Olipom store on 19th street in a fire almost two years ago. She reopened at 1115 21st St. Then, last fall, she expanded her vintage empire with Bows and Arrows several blocks away. And everyone (including Olivia) fell in love with it!

"It is sad, but it is only because I love Bows and Arrows so much, and because it is doing so well, that I would close Olipom," she says. "I just don't have enough love, energy and time to stock and manage and work both stores."

Olivia also enjoys sharing Bows and Arrows with local designer Trisha Rhomberg so, together, that focus and attention should be an asset at the boutique, which is at 1712 L St.

Parting words from Olivia: "Thanks to all of you for participating in what we did here. Olipom has been a great community shop!"

So who benefits? Shoppers, of course!

Starting today and running through Sunday, everything in Olipom is 50 percent off. The store's last-day sale (and big party!) is from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. next Wednesday.

I wish Olivia and Trisha all the best. They're midtown Sac's favorite fashion mavens!

Reef

OK, as a pre-emptive strike to a story that's scheduled soon in features, I'm PRO flip flops. My colleague, Sam McManis, is working on a story based on some info he recently obtained from the American College of Sports Medicine that "suggests that flip flops are a major cause of lower leg pain - calves, soles, etc."

Yeah, I know they don't have a heck of a lot of arch support, especially the super flat ones. But, in defense of the 'flop, I know I couldn't make it through a summer in Sac without my numerous Reefs (pictured). Taller than a regular pair of thongs, Reefs do supply a modicum of support but, more than that, they're really fun to wear.

I get my annual stash at Swanberg's on J (2316 J St. in midtown). Owner Lauren Lundsten checks in with me each season when the "innovative" Reefs arrive.

For example, I have a pair with a bottle opener on the bottom and another with, I swear, a plastic "pull-out" drawer to stash your valuables.

So, I'll read Sam's story and take my soles into consideration.

But no way will I make it through this dry heat in sensible shoes! UGH!

When you see as many movies as I do, you get a sense just from watching a film what it's going to be rated.

But my rating abilities have proved faulty lately. Certain that the innuendo-filled "You Don't Mess With the Zohan" and "The Love Guru" (opening Friday) were rated R, I was surprised to find each rated PG-13.

Now, PG-13 always has been amorphous, allowing all sorts of questionable material as long as certain body parts and curse words stay under wraps.

I often have lamented, in print and in person, the amount of violence the MPAA allows in PG-13 films. I then follow -- at least in person -- with a kicker about how Americans are prudes about sex and far too accepting of violence. (This observation usually leads my friends, gathered around me in a dark coffeehouse, to nod so vigorously in agreement that the berets nearly slip from their heads).

But "Zohan" and "Love Guru" suggest the MPAA is loosening up on the sex front - a development I'll file in the "careful what you wish for" category.

Because when I call the MPAA raters prudish, I am referring to their stance on sex scenes between attractive people, not their views on penis jokes delivered by comic characters.

Maybe it's not sexuality that discomfits the ratings board after all, but the sincere expression of it.

I think the MPAA has intimacy issues.

Bravo

Last night, Bravo served up "Top Chef: The Reunion", featuring the 16 "cheftestants" from Season 4. Finalist Richard Blaise appeared remote from Atlanta, awaiting the birth of his daughter.

This was the first "Top Chef" I followed from start to finish, and I thought Stephanie Izard of Chicago definitely earned the title last week. But last night's show also featured the announcement of this season's fan favorite. And I was all fired up to see Andrew D'Ambrosi take the $10,000 prize, only to see sweet Steph get the honors. So that's the $100,000 from Glad and the extra 10 grand for being soooo nice!

(Well, I knew Lisa Fernandes wasn't going to grab the cash. She spent the entire season stewing - literally - and looking like she was poised to punch someone out. Even she admitted the nasty faces gained her no friends once the show was over.)

Anyway, I thought Andrew provided the most fun (beyond the cooking) on the show and, obviously, had the best one-liners. As a matter of fact, his "culinary boner" comment earned its way on to a T-shirt (pictured) that Bravo is selling online. Just click here to order. Each tee is $24.95 and will be shipped beginning July 15.

His bud, chef Spike Mendelsohn, debuted the shirt on last night's show.

One of the interesting e-mails that a viewer sent in commented on the show's heaping helpings of weekly profanity. "The females talk like drunken sailors on leave," is what I recall. A quick recap did, indeed, prove that competing in a hot kitchen brings out the F-bombs in everyone.

I love to cook, but I love great hair and great clothes, too. And NEW shows. So bravo! to Bravo for having more debuts in the coming weeks. Season 2 of "Shear Genius" is next Wednesday at 10 p.m. And Season 5 of "Project Runway" jumps on the runway in July.

And look for my interview with "Shear Genius" host Jaclyn Smith and celebrity hairstylist and judge Kim Vo in next Wednesday's Scene section.