Dada

In a period when dance historians are industriously re-creating significant "lost" works, CalArts forces have made an oblique contribution with the restoration of "Ballet Mecanique," the landmark Dada film by Dudley Murphy, Fernand Leger and Man Ray, with music by George Antheil. The results of the cinematic effort, led by William Moritz, were shown for the first time Monday, as part of a Green Umbrella concert at the Japan America Theatre by the ever-intrepid New CalArts 20th-Century Players.

OOoooooooowooooooooOOOOOOOO-AaaaaaaaDADA! Dadadadadadadadadadada. Dadadadadadadada. Want to hear more? Be at the Newport Harbor Art Museum tonight at 8 for "That Dada Strain," a mosaic of music and words by poet Jerome Rothenberg and string bass player Bertram Turetzky, who will be appearing as part of the museum's Contemporary Culture Series. The Dada movement sprouted near the start of the century and was devoted to expressing--in Rothenberg's words--"spontaneity and disgust."

It had been three years since rock musician Tonio K.'s small but loyal legion of fans had seen its hero perform when he took the stage last week at the Coach House, but those on hand still knew to expect the unexpected. K.'s past shows were generally wild, unpredictable affairs, notable for furious, physical renditions of songs reflecting a cynic's-eye outlook on . . . well, just about everyone and everything.

A conversation with Beatrice Wood, 93, who is often called the 'Mama of Dada.' She is one of the last links to the Dadaists, a group of artists who developed an abstract and nihilistic style in Europe during World War I. A ceramicist of international renown, she lives in a combination home and studio on a promontory above a valley in Ojai. Q: Are you the Mama of Dada? A: Well, I was associated with the movement when it started, there's no question of that.

"Spot the Difference," the new album by one of L.A.'s most eccentric combos, TUPELO CHAIN SEX (on Selma Records), combines revolutionary politics with revolutionary sounds. Chain Sex has a mix-and-match cross-cultural approach, at times bordering on anarchy as it combines elements of psycho-billy, reggae dub, jump-swing jazz and salsa. What's surprising is how cohesively this group pieces its jagged musical jigsaw pieces together: It's weird, but it works.