OUR PICKS FOR THE WEEK
What better time to put on a magic show than April Fool’s Day?
The Jean Cocteau Cinema, 418 Montezuma Ave., is bringing in Francis Menotti, touted as “the magician who stumped Penn and Teller,” at 9 p.m. tonight, and 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Saturday.
Menotti says he is an entertainer, not pretending that what he is doing is anything more than an illusion, but describes his show as “watching a professional ballerina or shortstop perform in a superhuman way.” Admission to those superhuman feats is $10-$20, available at www. jeancocteaucinema.com.
That venue completes an entertaining weekend with music by Eryn Bent and Johny Broomdust at 7 p.m. Sunday. Bent, who is working on her third album, has a rich, expressive voice that should go well with the musicianship of Broomdust, best known for his work with Broomdust Caravan. Tickets are $7.
UNFLINCHING PORTRAITS: Folks over at the New Mexico Museum of Art think that photographer Anne Noggle should be way better known than she is, so they’ve put up an exhibition of her works, “Assumed Identities.” This is a lady who once was a crop-duster and pilot during World War II, moved to Albuquerque when she was 38 (after that crop-dusting gave her emphysema), enrolled in art history at the University of New Mexico and launched a career as a photographer, focused on portraiture. She also turned the camera on herself, recording the effects of aging with no regard as to whether she looked “pretty” or not. This exhibition opens 5:30-7:30 p.m. tonight and runs through Sept. 11.
MUSICAL MEDLEY: There’s some fine playing coming down the pike with The Greyhounds, made up of guitarist Andrew Trube and keyboardist Anthony Farrell from Austin. Blues, funk and soul are described as influencing their music, which Trube describes as “Hall & Oates meets ZZ Top.” The duo appear at 7:30 p.m. Thursday at Center Stage, 505 Camino de los Marquez. Tickets are $19 in advance through 800-838-3006 or www. brownpapertickets.com; cost is $23 at the door.
Also, when it comes to guitarists, it may take one to know one. Accomplished jazz guitarist Bruce Dunlap is hosting Richard Smith at his GIG Performance Space, 1808 Second St., at 7:30 p.m. tonight. Smith has toured the world performing music that spans a range of musical genres. And, if you get tired of guitar, he plays banjo and violin, too. All this and he’s only 30 years old.