Planet Princeton Weekend Picks, April 18-20

 

Celebrate National Record Store Day  at the Princeton Record Exchange

The Princeton Record Exchange will be rocking the 7th annual National Record Store Day this Saturday. We recommend that you arrive at PREX early if you have your heart set on a particular item. We mean really early, as in a few hours or more before the store opens.

Record Store Day’s purpose is to celebrate the culture of independently owned record store.s Across the country, hundreds of limited-edition titles are sold only at independent record stores like the Princeton Record Exchange for this special day. Freebies and promotional items are given away, and special music events are held across the United States.

The sales of vinyl records has been sky-rocketing over the last couple of years as a new generation has embraced the warmer sound and eye-catching packaging. While many vinyl records are available online, the main attraction of Record Store Day is the large number of limited-edition records that will not be available anywhere but at participating independent stores. At last count, there are well over 400 titles being released.

Some notable Record Store Day releases:

– Public Enemy’s Chuck D is RSD’s 2014 official ambassador, and a “first release” re-issue of their classic “It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back” with a lenticular cover (switches from image to image as you move it)

– The Bruce Springsteen 12” E.P., “American Beauty” with four unreleased songs

– A glow-in-the-dark 10” single of Ray Parker Jr.’s “Ghostbusters

– A David Bowie picture-disc single of “1984”

– A Ramones re-issue on navy colored vinyl of a 1980 U.K. promo 10” E.P.

– Teen sensation One Direction is joining in with their first ever vinyl release –  a 7” picture-disc with an unreleased track.

Many of these records have very limited production runs, so they are allocated by the distributors to stores around the country. The stores don’t know what they’ll receive until just before the day. The Princeton Record Exchange orders thousands of pieces each year based on past history with artists, “cool” factor, and requests from customers, according to manager Jon Lambert.

Doors will open at 10 a.m. at PREX, but customers will line up much earlier than that to maximize their chances of getting rarer titles.

The Princeton Record Exchange has posted the complete list of Record Store Day titles on the store web page and more detailed information on the releases can be found on RecordStoreDay.com’s site.

As a special treat, the band Dinner will play an in-store show at PREX at 5 p.m. Dinner is an experimental rock band. Their songs range from 2-minute quirky pop gems to extended spacerock instrumentals. Musical influences include early Genesis and Pink Floyd, Can, Robin Hitchcock, Soft Machine, Steely Dan and Pavement. The show should run for about an hour.

Last year, several hundred people were waiting at opening, and the line was solid for hours. There was a real sense of fun and camaraderie as like-minded folks came out to support the store and hope for their top picks of the limited titles. With the resurgence of vinyl fans out there, Princeton Record Exchange trusts the 7th annual Record Store Day will be the biggest yet, Lambert said.

Princeton Record Exchange has been consistently ranked as one of the top record stores in the country, most recently by Buzzfeed. The been buying and selling new and used music and movies since 1980. They are located at 20 S. Tulane St. in downtown Princeton, NJ. Visit their website www.prex.com and follow them on Facebook for more information.

Friday, April 18

Pygmalion at the Off-Broadstreet Theater – Drama by George Bernard Shaw, 7 p.m., 5 South Greenwood Avenue, Hopewell, Tickets $29.50 and up, includes dessert.

Princeton University Glee Club and Nassau Sinfonia – Princeton University Glee Club and Nassau Sinfonia Walter L. Nollner Memorial Concert featuring James MacMillan’s Seven Last Words from the Cross, Arvo Pärt’s Fratres, Passion and Resurrection by Eriks Esenvalds. 7:30 p.m., Richardson Auditorium, tickets $15.

Easter Portion of Handel’s Messiah – Easter Portion of Handel’s Messiah performed at Princeton United Methodist Church by the church’s chancel choir and instrumentalists. 7:30 p.m., Nassau Street at Vandeventer Avenue, Princeton, free.

The Figaro Plays: The Marriage of Figaro at McCarter Theatre – Adaptation of Pierre Beaumarchais’s comic play. 8 p.m. Friday, 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Saturday, 2 p.n. Sunday. Tickets $20 and up. www.mccarter.org

The Drowsy Chaperone – The Princeton University Players perform the musical “The Drowsy Chaperone” at 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday night at the Hamilton Murray Theater. Tickets $12.

Saturday, April 19

Earth Day Recycling Event and Electronics Drop Off at the Princeton Shopping Center – Celebrate Earth Day early by bringing your electronics, clothing and other household items to the Princeton Shopping Center, 301 N. Harrison Street in Princeton, between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m. The Salvation Army will be collecting items on the south side of the shopping center near the Princeton First Aid and Rescue Squad building.

Bunny Chase at Terhune Orchards – Celebrate the arrival of spring at the Terhune Orchards Bunny Chase Saturday and Sunday from 10am to 4 pm. A free, fun event for all young ones and their families. Follow the treasure hunt clues and find our spring surprise at the end of the hunt. Wagon rides around the farm, food tent filled with homemade goodies including donuts, pie, cookies, apple cider, soup, chili, salads, hot dogs and much more.

Doggie Easter Egg Hunt at Cutter’s Mill Pet Store – Visit Cutter’s Mill at the Princeton Shopping Center with your pooch from noon to 1 p.m. and hunt for Easter eggs together.

Shakespeare Scenes – Join the Princeton Public Library  for an adventure with swordplay, mistaken identities, love, deceit, murder, and good old fashioned wit! Celebrate the Bard’s birthday with this riot of words–a theatrical presentation appropriate for all ages. Presented in collaboration with the Princeton High School Shakespeare Club. 4 p.m., community room, free.

Cafe Improv – Music, poetry, stand-up comedy and more at the Arts Councinl of Princeton, 7 to 10 p.m. (stay for the entire show or drop in). $2 admission.

Sunday, April 20

Sunrise Service at Princeton United Methodist Church – 6 a.m. service followed by continental breakfast. Service of the Resurrection at 9:30 a.m., Easter Egg Hunt at 11 a.m. Church is located at corner of Nassau Street and Vandeventer Avenue in downtown Princeton.

The Princeton Public Library is closed for the Easter holiday.