Thursday 8.23

Surrealist Shenanigans The Salvador Dali Museum's Curator of Education, Peter Tush, concludes the museum's summer lecture series, The Curators Speak, by exploring the role of comedy and humor in Dali's work. Tush argues that the worlds of shtick and Freudian analysis merge in Dali's artistry. He examines Dali's 1937 meeting with Harpo Marx and Dali's use of parody and satire as subversive weapons against the expectations of proper artistic behavior. The lecture takes place in the museum's Raymond James Community Room at 6:30 p.m. Attendance is free with museum admission (which is half price on Thursdays after 5 p.m.). The museum is at 1000 Third St. S., St. Petersburg (727-823-3767).

Friday 8.24

One of Many Firsts Tampa Gallery of Photographic Arts hosts its First Annual Member's Photo Show on Aug. 24-26, 31 and Sept. 1 and 2. Subject to the gallery's rules for the show, any member of the Gallery may come into the museum during the show dates with two framed photographic images and hang them. Images are to be added and removed as the show progresses. Hours are 5-9 p.m. Friday, 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Saturday and noon-5 p.m. Sunday. The gallery is open to the public and there is no admission charge. The gallery is at 746 S. Village Circle, in Old Hyde Park Village, Tampa (813-251-1800). www.tgpa.org.

The Talking Head More than a quarter century has passed since David Byrne quit the Rhode Island School of Design in favor of music. He moved to New York, formed Talking Heads and helped broke in a genre called new wave. Byrne has stayed true to his roots in art-school rock, experimenting with regional world music and soundtrack songwriting over the course of his venerable career. His latest solo LP, Look into the Eyeball, finds Byrne wiser and less comical in his take on life, which seems like a natural progression. Byrne performs at 8 p.m. at the Tampa Bay Performing Arts Center's Carol Morsani Hall, 1010 N. MacInnes Place, Tampa (813-229-7827). Tickets cost $27.50-$37.50.

Saturday 8.25

Radio Days Anyone who's tuned into a Top 40 station in the last year has likely heard one of the pop artists performing at WFLZ-93.3 FM's The Big One. Jessica Simpson headlines the show, which includes Smash Mouth, LFO, Eden's Crush, Willa Ford and Kaci. The event includes free festivities throughout the day, outside the Ice Palace, with a stage for local bands, games, food and a chance to win prizes. Tickets cost $29.33, $19.33 and $9.33. The show starts at 7:30 at the Ice Palace, 401 Channelside Drive, Tampa (813-301-6500).

Scallop Search Tampa BayWatch and the Tampa Bay Estuary Program are cosponsoring the 2001 Great Bay Scallop Search, a resource-monitoring program where volunteers snorkel along set transect lines in lower Tampa and Boca Ciega bays to count scallops. Scallop searchers are to meet at 9 a.m. at the far eastern side of the Fort De Soto Boat Ramp (Fort De Soto Park, 3500 Pinellas Bayway S., Tierra Verde) to receive survey equipment and instructions for the monitoring event. The project plans for 40-50 boats with 200 participants to search a 100-square-meter area of seagrass meadows, where, thanks to improved water conditions, scallops are making a tentative comeback. Lunch is provided by Shells Restaurant. Reservations are required, since this is one of Tampa BayWatch's most popular events. For sign-up information, call 727-896-5320.

Beat ItClearwater's own Negative Format and Orlando's God Module come from a background of industrial music to sub-genres EBM (Electronic Body Music) and electro. Live, Negative Format is Alex Matheu and Ben Schingel — both on synths, loops and vocals — combining trance with intricate percussion to form an intelligent EBM sound. God Module is a pure electronic project, formed by Jasyn Bangert and Andrew Ramirez. Their complementary styles create harsh synthetic rhythms and a melodic style of programming. DJ Sex opens the $8, 18-and-up show at 9 p.m. at The Orpheum, 1902 Republica de Cuba, Ybor City (813-248-9500).

Sunday 8.26

Shake It Like a White Boy Some of Tampa Bay's most original and uninhibited musicians, songwriters and artists take part in Shake, Rattle & Grind, a boy burlesque male revue. The fundraiser features the gyrations of Chucky Luv of the Chucky Luv Band, in support of its album, Silly Humans; Chris Temple of Ashes of Grisum, in support of its album, The Spirit and the Flesh; painter Alex Espalter-Torres; Spyder of Psykill; Jeremy Gloff in support of his album, America is Lonely Tonight; M3 of Hell on Earth in support of its album, All Things Disturbingly Sassy; The Gita in support of its album, Now More Than Ever; poet San Man, supporting his Triple Talent Showcase on Hawk 1520 AM; and Suzy Martian of Star Baby. The event takes place at 7:30 p.m. at The Irish Pub, 1721 E. Seventh Ave., Ybor City (813-248-2099). Admission costs $3, and tips are encouraged.

Tango Argentino In its fourth year, A Night of Tango in Tampa features top professional dancers, singers and musicians from Buenos Aires, Argentina. The star dancers include Miriam Larici and Hugo Patyn — the stars of Forever Tango, the longest-running Tango show in the history of Broadway — and Natalia Games and Gabriel Angio, featured dancers of the critically acclaimed dance company Tango X. The superb bandeonista Miguel Arrabal leads his band, Tango X 3, through the lively Tangos of the most famous Argentine orchestras. Featured musicians include pianist Jorge Vernieri and bassist Rances Colon. Tango couples from throughout the Southeast are to present various styles of the exotic and passionate dance. Tickets cost $45 and include dinner, the show and dancing after the show until 11:30 p.m. The evening begins with dinner from 4:30 to 7 p.m., followed by the show at 7:30 p.m. Takes place at the Centro Asturiano, 1913 Nebraska Ave., Ybor City (813-224-9185). For more information or to make reservations, call 727-573-9271.

Monday 8.27

In One's Glory The first solo exhibition of paintings by Joanna N. Coke celebrates the feminine spirit as sensuous and self-determining. These attributes are visualized in watercolor, pastels and other mixed media, which merge external anatomy with details of internal tissue. Coke is completing two bachelor's degrees at USF in art education and painting. A reception takes place from 7 to 9 p.m. at Centre Gallery, where the exhibit is on display until Sept. 14. Centre Gallery is in the Phyllis P. Marshall Center (CTR 246 on the campus of USF-Tampa), 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa (813-974-5464).

Tuesday 8.28

WPA Scholar USF English professor and author Dr. Charles Heglar presents a lecture on the Depression Era and the WPA's interviews of ex-slaves in Florida. Through his work, Heglar imparts the importance of acknowledging the folk wisdom and culture of that period. Heglar has written the introduction for the 2001 reissue of The Life and Adventures of Henry Bibb, one of the earliest American slave narratives. Born into slavery, Bibb's narrative tells of his repeated escapes and captures — a tale so hair-raising that an investigation was conducted, which proved Bibb's account. The lecture takes place at 1 p.m. at the College Hill Branch Library, 2607 E. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., Tampa (813-273-3681).

Wednesday 8.29

Art Imitates Wildlife Students from Rawlings Elementary in Pinellas Park brought life to a variety of colorful deer with help from artist-members of the Florida Craftsmen Gallery. The student art project, Deer on Parade, is an interdisciplinary project involving all students and areas of study at Rawlings. The project is patterned after a movement of public, outdoor sculptures designed to bring communities, businesses, schools and artists together in metropolitan areas. Examples of such movements include the Cows in Chicago, Pigs in Cincinnati and Lizards in Orlando. The deer are on display through Sept. 8 at the Florida Craftsmen Gallery, 501 Central Ave., St. Petersburg (727-821-7391).

This article appears in Aug 23-29, 2001.