FOUND (Magazine) in H-Town

A bit early, but after missing Steve Earle at Cactus this past weekend, I do not want to drop the ball on this one, especially since the wife & I had to miss ’em the last time they came through town, back in 2007…

So, here we go with the good news: weekend-after-next, Friday, May 29th, the fine gents who do FOUND Magazine, Davy & Peter Rothbart, are stopping here in our fair city as part of their “Denim and Diamonds Tour”. I have no freaking idea what’s up with the title, no, but I do know that this tour’s to promote their latest FOUND book, Requiem for a Paper Bag, which is reportedly a little different from their other books (which are mostly collections of past issues of FOUND) in that in addition to the usual entertaining detritus, the book also includes essays & short stories by folks like Chuck D & Seth Rogen.

If you’re totally in the dark as to the idea behind the mag itself, well, the Rothbart brothers and their loyal, maniacal cadre of collectors/foragers/etc. comb the dumpsters and garbage cans and attics and gutters and backseats of America to gather the weirdest, most intriguing bits of scribbled-down kitsch/strangeness they can find, from painfully-bad love letters to notes from middle school in the ’80s to crayon drawings to random signs to, well, look at their Find of the Day section for some examples.

The issues I’ve seen/read of the mag are utterly fascinating, to me — the little bits and pieces are like glimpses into the absurd underbelly of modern life, all the stuff people write and think when they think nobody’s watching. I dunno what the “live” FOUND show will be like, really (readings from the new book & maybe some recent/good finds, I’m guessing?), but from reports I’ve heard, past shows have been pretty incredibly cool.

Cooler still, of course, is the venue; just like last time, the Rothbart brothers’ appearance this time out is sponsored by the utterly awesome Aurora Picture Show gang, but this time out the festivities will take place at the also-awesome St. Arnold’s Brewery.

The price is $10 for Picture Show members and $15 for non-members (21+ only, sorry), and that relatively low price gets you all the beer you can drink, plus all the entertaining FOUND stuff. (And hey, if you’ve never checked out St. Arnold’s, go see the old place before they move on over to their soon-to-be new home at 2000 Lyons.) Doors open at 7:30PM, and the show itself starts at 8PM — I’d get there early, if I were you.