Days of Summer

Monday, July 28:Hair is a time capsule, the musical that celebrates a psychedelic ("Lets take drugs!"), revolutionary ("My parents are so square!"), and sexually liberating ("Black, white, boy, girl, I dont care -- lets do it!") moment in American history. After successful runs on Broadway and on the big screen (check out a clip of Black Boys from the 1979 film version here,), its no wonder New York City's Public Theater thinks it can pull off the gem in a very "Shakespeare in the park" sorta way. Lets hope fear of Poison Ivy didn't compel the cast to cut the nudey scenes. Consult the website for details and tickets here. Tuesday, July 29: Our neighbors to the north can give our Prides a run for their money, and Montreal is one of the gayest places in the northern hemisphere. The city's St. Catherine Street would make Chelsea or West Hollywood blush. More than just a parade and a batch of wild club nights, Divers/Cite is a huge outdoor and free multidisciplinary cultural behemoth, an arts festival right alongside a gay festival that features dancing, music of every variety, drag, photography, and film. Consult a guide to Montreal's gay destinations here, then check out what Divers/Cite has to offer here.Wednesday, July 30: Black Kids (above) are a band from Florida, and the bottom line is this: They're good. Their EP, Wizard of Ahhhs, garnered the group a glowing Pitchfork review and a slew of great press. Last week they put out their debut full-length, Partie Traumatic, featuring the single "I'm Not Gonna Teach Your Boyfriend How to Dance with You," which plays like a fusion of the Cure, the Rapture, and the Strokes -- if they were brilliant, excited teens. Check out Black Kids' MySpace here, then get the record here.Thursday, July 31: Oh, that Jason Patric is so dreamy. He was in 1987, when cult fave The Lost Boys hit theaters, and he is now, almost 20 years later at 42. And for lots of gay boys across this great nation, the odd vampiric chemistry between Jason and both a bleach blond Kiefer Sutherland and awkward kid brother Corey Haim (with on- and off-screen buddy Corey Feldman in 2001, above) was electric. This week you can finally take the film home on DVD and enjoy it as an adult -- while still allowing yourself to get ridiculously giddy like a kid, of course. Watch the original trailer here, here, then buy it here. Friday, August 1: Rainn Wilson may not immediately register on your celebrity radar, but we bet excellent characters like Dwight Schrute from The Office Rollo from Juno, and Arthur Martin from Six Feet Under perhaps? The quirky funnyman steps into the spotlight in The Rocker this Friday. In the film, an unceremoniously kicked-out drummer (Wilson) of the thriving '80s metal band, Vesuvius, gets his second chance at rock 'n' roll glory when his nephew's band, A.D.D., needs a new drummer. They reluctnantly let Uncle 'Fish' pick up his sticks and hilarity ensues. Check out the trailer here. Meanwhile, if Wilson doesn't get your blood boiling, lust after the scrumptious Zac Efron in the goofy, old-guy (Matthew Perry)-wishes-he-could-be-17-again comedy, appropriately titled 17 Again. Check out a teaser here. Saturday, August 2: David Henry Sterry left San Francisco after a few thousand stand-up comedy gigs with a couple grand to his name and headed for the Big Apple of the 1980s. Poised with a hundred resumes and head shots, he planned on making it huge. Naturally, he spent two years as the roller-disco emcee of a beefy, Chippendale-heavy strip club. Lucky for us he recorded it all in Master of Ceremonies: A True Story of Love, Murder, Roller Skates, and Chippendales, out this week. Packed into the new book his backstage gossip, dirty secrets, and gritty glam. Get yourself a copy for the beach here. Sunday, August 3: Queer design mavens like Todd Oldham (above) have been giving us bright ideas for zhuzhing up our pads for decades. Thankfully, HGTV has recruited Oldham and spawned a competition reality show for those who like to get dirty with paint, dust, tools, and drawings. Tonight is the season finale of Design Star, complete with a recap of house renovations, a reunion of previous cast members (hunky policeman Mikey Verdugo had a secret porn career, did you hear?), and the crowning of the contest's winner. Check out the final two contenders and their designs on the HGTV website here, then a delightfully cheesy Channel 7 interview with Mikey the designer here.