Pop music
Piano men
Monday. Big sellers. Taken together, as they are on this current tour, Billy Joel and Elton John are responsible for a tremendous canon of pop music. They both have countless megahit records, including Joel’s 21-times platinum “Greatest Hits Volume I and Volume II” and John’s 16-times platinum “Greatest Hits.” And so when Joel and John take the Pepsi Center stage on Monday, they won’t be wanting for material. The two pop stars’ “Face 2 Face Tour” has them playing together and apart, a concept they first developed for a 1994 tour. Tickets, $49.59-$175, are available via . This is a rescheduled concert, and all tickets for the original Nov. 22 date will be valid at Monday’s show. Ricardo Baca
Famous son
Tonight. Americana updated. Famous Songwriter’s Son. Justin Townes Earle is indeed his father’s son. But Steve Earle’s progeny doesn’t rely on his lucky lineage for much. His songs do all the talking. A cursory listen to Earle’s sophomore release, “Midnight at the Movies,” is all the proof you’ll need that Earle’s talent and ability stands on its own. Earle plays the Bluebird Theater tonight, and with the addition of Joe Pug, it’s one of the best songwriter bills the Bluebird has seen in ages. See our interview with Earle on Reverb, The Post’s exhaustive music blog: denverpost . Ricardo Baca
Classical music
He’s a winner
Today, Saturday and Sunday. Symphonic Music.Haochen Zhang was 19 when he became a co-winner of the top prize at the 2009 Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The young soloist joins associate conductor Scott O’Neil and the Colorado Symphony for concerts at 7:30 p.m. today and Saturday and 2:30 p.m. Sunday. $15-$75. 303-623-7876 or coloradosymphony . Kyle MacMillan
Visual art
Obama re-created
Saturday. Sculpture. Denver artist Ed Dwight, best known for his Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. “I Have a Dream” Memorial in City Park, has created a new set of lifesize sculptures depicting President Barack Obama. The first portrays Obama giving his acceptance speech at the Democratic National Convention and the second shows him being sworn in as president with accompanying sculptures of Chief Justice Roberts and other figures. In conjunction with Black History Month, the works will be on view Saturday through Feb. 28 at the Colorado History Museum, 1300 Broadway. Dwight will speak about his work at 2 p.m. Saturday. Suggested admission is $5. 303-866- 3682 or . Kyle MacMillanFamily fun
Take a seat, take a journey
Ongoing. Travelogue on screen. Journey to the Middle East in “Arabia,” the latest IMAX spectacle at the Denver Museum of Nature & Science. Opening today, the film explores the region’s long human history and often-harsh geography. From a Bedouin tent in the desert to the millions of Muslims on their pilgrimage to Mecca, “Arabia” shows the diverse ways people live in the Middle East. Expect to be wowed by stunning landscapes — and seascapes — on the giant IMAX screen. 10:30 a.m., 1 p.m., 3 p.m., 5 p.m. daily, with additional 7 p.m. shows on Fridays and Saturdays. Denver Museum of Nature & Science, 2001 Colorado Blvd.; 303-322-7009. IMAX-only tickets are $8 for adults, $6 for students and seniors. Museum members receive a discount. For more information and to buy advance tickets, visit . Kathleen St. John
Rocking the schoolhouse
Thursday through May 15. Musical play. Youngsters and their parents will each have their own reasons for enjoying “Schoolhouse Rock Live!,” opening at the Arvada Center on Thursday. Grownups will get a hit of nostalgia hearing songs from the 1970s kids’ TV show of the same name — songs like “Conjunction Junction,” “Just a Bill” and “Do the Circulation.” Meanwhile, the kids will just be enjoying a rockin’ good time while learning about music, history, math and more. The show runs through May 15. Noon Thursday. Future times and dates vary; all shows are matinees. The Arvada Center, 6901 Wadsworth Blvd., Arvada; 720-898-7200. Weekday tickets are $8, weekend tickets are $10. Call or visit to buy tickets in advance. Kathleen St. John
Retro kids
Sunday. Dress-up concert. Bust out the poodle skirts and ponytails for the Sock Hop Band show at the Toad Tavern. This family-friendly concert features a 12-member band of local musicians playing hits from the 1950s and ’60s. Slow-dance to songs by crooners like Dean Martin and Roy Orbison, and rock out to old-school jams from Elvis Presley and Buddy Holly. A couple of Blues Brothers numbers will inject some Chicago flavor, too. Guests are encouraged to dress up in their best ’50s gear for that authentic sock-hop feeling. 6-8 p.m. Sunday. The Toad Tavern, 5302 S. Federal Circle, Littleton; 303-795-6877. Admission is $5. For more information, visit . Kathleen St. John
Sounds of history
Tonight. Concert with a cause. Celebrate African-American History month with the Real African Music concert at Broomfield Auditorium. The RAM group performs traditional African music, dancing and drumming with a multimedia flair. The show is presented by the Kudzidza Foundation, a nonprofit organization that works to send assistance to Africa, and promotes cultural exchanges between the U.S. and Zimbabwe. 7 p.m. tonight. Broomfield Auditorium, 3 Community Park Road; 303-464-5835. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for seniors and students. For more information, visit or . Kathleen St. John
Check out these summer camps
Saturday. Camp expo. It’s not too early to plan for summer at the Colorado Parent 2010 Summer Camp Fair and Expo. Watch demonstrations and seminars about different camps and summer activities, including sports, science and performing arts summer camps. More than 60 exhibitors are expected to be on-site. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. National Western Complex, 4655 Humboldt St.; 303-297-1166. Admission to the event is free; parking is $7 per car. For more information, visit . Kathleen St. John
Novick, Schimek kitsch it up at Kowalski Gallery
After moving from Chicago in 2008, abstract painter Lisa Kowalski turned a well-worn warehouse at 2762 Walnut St. into a spacious open studio and living quarters with just the right mix of grit and elegance.
She has devoted the front part of the building to an informal gallery, where she presents her own paintings, as well as occasional exhibitions by local artists she likes.
On view through Feb. 20 are fun, irreverent works by Samuel Schimek and Andrew Novick, who share a penchant for kitsch. Put simply, theirs is anything but high art, and that’s the way they like it.
Novick, an obsessive collector of anything and everything, is best- known for a display of his accumulated objects last year at The Lab at Belmar titled, “The Astounding Problem of Andrew Novick.” A much smaller wall installation can be seen here.
Schimek’s work includes what he calls “repetitive object patterns,” digital found-object arrays, as well as a witty series of photos of restaurant desserts mounted on banal straw place mats.
Gallery hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays. Free. 303-585-0699 or . Kyle MacMillan
A different spin for Haiti earthquake relief
It makes sense that most of the local fundraising concerts for Haiti earthquake recovery have fallen along genre lines. And now Denver’s electronic music community is ready to throw a blow-out party to raise funds for the Caribbean country that suffered a 7.0 magnitude earthquake on Jan. 12.
Saturday’s Global Dance For Life event at the Denver Coliseum will feature more than 40 Colorado DJs on six stages from 6 p.m.-2 a.m. with a focus on an in-the-round main stage headlined by DJs Kostas and Dragon.
Event organizer Ha Hau, who also handles the Global Dance Festival at Red Rocks each summer, has been overwhelmed with help and donations from the community. We spoke with Hau about his generous partners, his six-stage setup and his draw to help the people of Haiti.
Question: Fundraisers, especially of this size, take time to put together. How did you all get everything planned out?
Answer: I planned out this project with a few good friends — Kostas, Dragon and Trajikk. We reached out to our collective networks and lined up up our team as soon as the concert was confirmed. Time has definitely been the big challenge here.
Q: Tell me how you’re setting up six separate stages at the Coliseum?
A: The main stage will sit in the middle of the Coliseum floor with sound and lighting pointing in both main directions, giving it a 360-degree setup. You can literally walk around the entire stage. We’ve never done anything like this before, so its pretty exciting. There is a lot of room in the concourse areas and the arcade, so you’ll be entertained with music in all areas of the complex.
Q: The city is donating the rental fee on the Coliseum. Is everybody else donating their time?A: Without their kind donation of one of the city’s premier event facilities, we couldn’t put something like this together at such a cheap ticket price of $10. You can’t even get into nightclubs for less than $10. TicketWorks is donating their staff for the box office. Argus Event Staffing will be making contributions. AMR is generously donating an ambulance, paramedic and EMT member to keep our event safe. Nexus Productions, Paradigm Sound, Atomic Pro Audio and Lighting Systems, Electro Audio, Space Case, Alpha Omega and Greater Events are all pitching in their time and the production equipment they own.
Q: Do you have a connection to Haiti? What touched you specifically to set this up?A: The only real connection I have is that I’m human. I was watching live footage on CNN and it just broke my heart seeing the devastation. It became apparent that the people of Haiti needed help quickly. I realized that I was in a fortunate position to join this effort to make the world a better place.
Ricardo Baca: 303-954-1394 or rbaca@ ; @RVRB on Twitter
GLOBAL DANCE.
global dance for life An electronic music fundraiser for Haiti earthquake relief. Denver Coliseum, 4600 Humboldt St. featuring DJs Kostas, Dragon, Trajikk and more than 35 others. Saturday. 6 p.m.-2 a.m. $10. and 877-714-7668
The classical crowd pitches in for Haiti, too
The classical crowd pitches in for Haiti, too
In 2004, Cynthia Katsarelis spent three weeks at the Holy Trinity School of Music in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, conducting and teaching. When she learned the school’s building was destroyed during the country’s recent devastating earthquake, and a member of its boys choir was killed, she decided to take action.
Katsarelis has mobilized 170 classical singers and instrumentalists along the Front Range for a special Haiti memorial concert at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at St. John’s Episcopal Cathedral, 1350 Washington St.
The program will include Faure’s Requiem, Barber’s Adagio for Strings and Mozart’s “Ave Verum Corpus.” A suggested donation of $40 is requested. Proceeds will benefit the Colorado Haiti Project. 303-577-7723 or or Kyle MacMillan
