David Copperfield to perform at BJC

Appearing, or maybe disappearing, March 23 at The Bryce Jordan Center will be world-renowned magician David Copperfield.

Famous for performing such magic acts as making the Statue of Liberty disappear and romancing Claudia Schiffer, Copperfield will be performing two shows at 5:30 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Copperfield's new show, called "U!," will not just be a show to watch, but one for audience participation as well. In one illusion, Copperfield will take 13 audience members on stage and make them vanish in front of their families and friends.

Tickets for the "World's Greatest Illusionist" will go on sale at 8 a.m. tomorrow at the Center, Eisenhower Auditorium, selected Uni-Mart ticket outlets and Commonwealth Campus ticket outlets, or charge by phone at 1-800-863-3336 or locally at 865-5555. Tickets are $39.50, $29.50 and $23.50.

-- by James Conroy

Guitar quartet to play at Schwab

One of the first rules for reporters at The Daily Collegian is never use a friend as a source in an article.

"So, Andrea, how am I going to make this tag unique?" asked Melissa Dugan (sophomore-English), an arts reporter for the Collegian.

Andrea Robinson (sophomore-journalism), the Collegian arts staff chief, shrugged.

"I don't know, Melissa," she said. "What's the tag about?"

Dugan sighed and folded her arms across her chest.

"The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet. They're basically four guys who play chamber music, stuff like a suite from Carmen and 'Passage' by Andrew York. They've toured all over the country and the world, and they've gotten rave reviews," said Dugan.

"So, it's like classical guitar music?" Robinson asked.

"Basically. So, should I bring Student No. 2 into this tag, or what?"

"No one would notice, anyway. I don't think anyone reads your tags and that's why you can get away with all of this weird stuff that doesn't even pass as journalism," Robinson said.

"Oh. Well, thanks for the advice, I guess."

The Los Angeles Guitar Quartet will perform at 8 p.m. tomorrow in Schwab Auditorium.

-- by Melissa Dugan

John Biggers: PSU grad, art hero

Before achieving nationally renowned status, John Biggers crafted a lasting impression of his artistic talent at Penn State.

Biggers was a student at the university during the 1940s when he painted "Harvest Songs," a set of two murals called "Days of the Harvest" and "Night of the Poor," now on display in Burrowes Building. In addition to "Harvest Songs," Biggers' collection includes the mural "The Sharecroppers" in the Paul Robeson Cultural Center. After graduating, he continued his artistic endeavors and later founded and became head of the art department at Texas Southern University.

His artwork celebrates African-American culture and has been displayed in museums across the country.

The film John Biggers' Journeys (A Romance) will be presented at 1 p.m. today in the Palmer Museum of Art. The presentation is part of the exhibition "Five Decades of Drawings by John Biggers." The exhibition will run until June 27. For more information, call 865-7672.

-- by Kristen Pyle

Yes, Auntie, folk and rock DO mix

Folk and rock: A marriage of music.

But at 10 p.m. tomorrow in the HUB Gallery Lounge, Aunt Pat will be performing a free sampling of their folk-rock stylings. Five out of the six band members are related either by blood or by marriage, which is the reason the band is together.

Aunt Pat says it tries to bring music back to the days when, "Bands were chock-full of individual talent." Although the band tries to stay away from having one leader or star, it's evident that guitarist and vocalist Blake Allen takes the cake.

"When we form like Voltron," said lead guitarist Mike McShane in a press release, "Blake is the head."

The Philadelphia-based group's second album, Patoo, was released in October 1998 and contains a collaboration with former The Band member Levon Helm.

According to Aunt Pat's biography, after recording the track with Helm, he said to the band, "You've got something special here . . . you got you a band."

-- by James Conroy

Get thee to Cafe for delicious Recipe

A grassroots sound and feel-good vocals will be "the recipe" for good-time rock at 10:30 p.m. tonight at Café 210 West, 210 W. College Ave.

A seven-piece ensemble, The Recipe incorporates a bluegrass sound into its jam-rock ambience. The songwriting and soaring duets of co-lead singers Kristen Wolverton and Joe Prichard give the band an enjoyable hippie sound that stands out amidst other jam groups more intent on playing rock and jazz grooves.

On the band's two albums, Love Marble Hoe-down and Night of the Porch People, the Recipe delivers a little piece of Appalachian Americana. Songs such as "In Season" paint images of mountain villages, bringing to mind moonshine stills and hoe-downs.

Fiddler Mark Rapson gives the Recipe's songs a country/bluegrass feel, but the group's two guitarists mix in a solid rock sound that makes the music "feel good," upbeat and highly danceable.

Formed in Morgantown, W.Va., in 1995, the Recipe has enjoyed growing success. The group has played at jam-rock festivals throughout the country, as well as opening for acts such as Bela Fleck & the Flecktones and Gov't Mule.

The Recipe is currently on a cross-country tour playing bars and music halls with other up-and-coming jam groups. According to the Recipe's World Wide Web site (www.therecipe.net), the band is expecting a great time at tonight's show.

"We had a blast the last time we came to Penn State!" the group says on the Web site.

-- by Geoff Rushton