Version '05 starts Friday

An experiment in navigating emerging or sub cultures, the fourth annual Version fest kicks off this Friday. This year dubbed "Invisible Desire," the festival combines the visual and performing arts with activism and creative uses of new technologies. While the focus of Version is on "strategies and aesthetics of artistic intervention and political change," there are some notable music and media happenings of note that you might want to check out even if you've never fancied yourself as much of a political activist. Here are some highlights: Sunday, April 24 McKinley Park 35th and Archer(Orange line stop) BBQ near 3700 S. Hoyne Birds by Dan St. Clair: This performance for FM radio responds to pop culture’s saturation of our consciousness with bland and predictable melody. Birds re-injects the possibility for surprise into the radio landscape by synthesizing bird song to mimic the playlists of commercial music radio stations in real time. http://www.artic.edu/~dstcl 7pm Music in the park: The William Young: Chicago's premiere pirate band sings shanties to put sail to your seven seas. Ultimate Marching Warriors: Paul Velat (aka The Lord of the Yum Yum) transforms into a one-man marching band. Jitney is Hiphop, dance and noise. Occasional Detroit is extreme noise psychedelia on the mic. Tuesday April 26, 2005 buddY 1542 N. Milwaukee Ave 2nd floor 9pm $5 Politics and Popular Music: Strange gyrating singers, elusive sounds of mash up sensibilities, experimental action. Beverages served. Performances by: We Can And Must Live Local podcasting pros will give a 30 - 40 minute lecture on podcasting basics and on its use of podcasting to transmit their particular form of electronic improvisation. A performance follows. We Can and We Must consists of Electronic Composer/Performers Jason Wampler and Ryan Ingebritsen. Potter Belmar Labs Audio Visual collective. Hong Kong Delight Art-rock/time-based art performance that includes video, text, performance, rock music and thought-provoking politics. Lovely Little Girls Icky sticky drippings from Gregory Jacobsen's all-new band of misfits making its world premiere at Version>05. Rotten Milk vs. Bubblegum Shitface Terry Plumming's deviant noise fiends eternally locked in battle - for no apparent reason. Wednesday, April 27 Zhou B. Center 1029 W. 35th St (35th and Morgan), 2nd floor 10am-7pm $5 donation Terry Plumming summit program #2: 100 improvising musicians will perform in an 80' pentagram. 10 person typewriter chorus will record events, spoken and otherwise. There will be simultaneous lectures, a format consisting mainly of the rolling start and objection rounds go round. There will be famous summit photograph reenactments, presented in front of a beachscene backdrop. "Recency, begins at 10 a.m. with waiting around. Then at 2 p.m. one hundred improv musicians on five PAs inside a pentagram will invoke the maze after which objects will be produced which exploit magic sonic potentials." Beverages will be served, earplugs provided. For lists of participants, dates and times (constantly being updated), vist http://www.diabolical.org/summit/ Friday, April 29 Texas Ballroom & Diamonds on Archer 3012 S. Archer Ave., 1st and 3rd floors 10:30pm Suggested donation $10 Community of the Future Opening AfterEvent: ZIbelline Epee is a 10-minute puppet show with appropriated and live music. Far Rad: NO RAVE. youloveitsodoit. Everyone Mutates (Ghost Arcade Ltd.): Minimal body wave. The Atari Star (Johann's Face): Lush, intimate and carefully crafted. DJs : Grady and Benn Flashbulb Sunday, May 01 Zhou B. Center 1029 W. 35th St. noon - 8pm VERSION NFO EXPO-Chatroom Program 1pm Neighborhood Public Radio - DIY: The History and Future of Neighborhood Public Radio Years of broadcasting nomadically throughout the San Francisco Bay Area have taught ‘NPR’ a great deal about transmission methods, community organizing, the myth of PUBLIC radio, and attempts of corporate media to exclude localized voices. DIY is a presentation drawing upon this experience, relayed via conversation between a low power radio proponent and a low-level corporate radio hack. Followed by a hands-on workshop on how others might duplicate their methods. Version '05 kicks off this Friday with a 3-floor opening party encompassing the Highschool, Heaven and buddY galleries(aka The Compound). For more info and a complete line-up of events, visit www.versionfest.org