A&E

There is no smoking in the Bren Events Center. The ever-watchful security force made sure that nobody even lingered in the aisles between seats for more than a few seconds at Rockstar Energy Drink's "Get A Life Tour" last Thursday night. Who knows what they would do if they caught someone with a lit cigarette?

A talented group of 15 dancers and choreographers from the UC Irvine Department of Dance showcased this year's production of "Physical Graffiti."

Just to clarify, "Measure for Measure" is a play by a little- known playwright named William Shakespeare and, if you haven't checked him out yet, you should.

"Mario Kart Wii" goes in one direction: backward. It was a tall order to beat the innovative "Double Dash" and the milestone "Mario Kart DS." Nintendo certainly didn't do it.

Matmos is generally considered to be an electronic experimental band. The word "experimental" scares away even the most passionate music fans.

Concerts for philanthropic causes might be as common as students listening to iPods in today's era, but the second annual UCIndie: A Benefit Concert for Iraqi Children, organized by members of the Baghdad School Project in conjunction with the Social Science Dean's Ambassadors Council, made for a fun-filled night of upbeat music and camaraderie as part of a large effort to provide educational supplies to schoolchildren in Baghdad.

"Speed Racer" comes across as candy for the senses. The constantly dynamic visuals are a rainbow-sherbet, hyper, pop-art assault on the eyes that is stunning and, at times, almost overwhelming. Unfortunately, much like candy, the rush starts strong yet ultimately leaves the viewer unsatisfied.

Bollywood is known internationally and more specifically in the United States for making movies with lavish song-and-dance numbers. Many audiences around the world turn to Bollywood for its escapist plot lines. Although this list contains some majestic song-and-dance movies, there are also some thoughtful and insightful surprises.

"Grand Theft Auto IV" falls short of the pedestal on which it's been put on. Is "Hollywood" really the direction games should be going in?

Michael Straus, an experimental saxophonist, performed a multimedia saxophone event called "What Are You Looking At?" as part of his Spring 2008 West Coast mini-tour on Wednesday, April 30 at the Claire Trevor School of the Arts. The show consisted of six pieces that intertwined saxophone with computer-generated sounds, stereophonic tape and video and live electronics.

Indio is a quiet desert town 125 miles east of Los Angeles, but for three days out of the year, it is what Prince dubbed "The coolest place on Earth." (And he would know.)

THE CRITIC: "In The Manner of the Adverb" is part one of the MFA thesis show, and it showcases a partiality toward a clean, controlled aesthetic via drawings, paintings, film, photography and digital work. This spare visual sense is tempered with a conceptual intensity that informs the execution of each work, and fills the quiet space with potent references.