Whatever happened to the CIA? When the people of Chile elected a Socialist president back in the early 1970s, the CIA gave Chile its own September 11 -- President Salvador Allende was killed in a coup on that date in 1973. Thousands more died over the next several weeks, including the great Chilean folk singer Victor Jara. Egged on by our men in black, Pinochet was installed as a dictator. But that was 30 years ago. When insurgents tried the same thing against Venezuela in 2002, it completely fell apart. At the beginning of the coup, American media announced that President Hugo Chavez (who has since been restored to power) had "resigned." Their source? The U.S. State Department. Huh. How about that? Meanwhile, the coup itself has been documented by a film crew that happened to be filming a documentary on Chavez as the coup happened. Check out their work when The Revolution Will Not Be Televised screens at the South Regional/BCC Library (7300 Pines Blvd., Pembroke Pines) at 7 p.m. Call 954-962-4006.
FRI 9/26
Hear ye, hear ye! Agent 51 wants to make a statement. Well, actually its website does: "Don't mistake Agent 51 as just another punk act! These young shredders have vowed to put the 'rock' back in punk rock!" No way! What a novel concept! Well, Agent 51 sure does a lot of talking. But let's see if they do the rocking. In support of their new album, The Red and Black, the boys from San Diego park their punk-rock riffs at the Culture Room (3045 N. Federal Hwy., Fort Lauderdale) with Slightly Stoopid. Check out the latest supporters of the punk revival at 8 p.m. Call 954-564-1074.
SAT 9/27
Elton John was once a purveyor of pure pop bliss, a god-like singer/songwriter able to tear catchy, soulful tunes out of the dead carcass of the 1970s music industry. His outlandish costumes and Charles Nelson Reilly-on-a-speed-bender penchant for eyewear made him instantly recognizable, but it was his talent for writing songs that often became the soundtrack for Saturday nights that made him so damn good. "Rocket Man" and "Bennie and the Jets"? C'mon, they ripped everybody a new one! Then the 1990s crept up, Sir Elton abandoned flamboyant jumpsuits and ostrich-plume hats for tailored suits, and he spoon-fed "Candle in the Wind" to the MTV generation. The music industry is not always kind to those who had once been rock legends, and it's hard not to be saddened by the likes of John, Mick Jagger, or Paul McCartney dragging themselves on-stage year after year. But goddamn it, Elton plays the American Airlines Arena (601 Biscayne Blvd., Miami), and even though it won't be like the good old days, you can close your eyes during "The Bitch Is Back" and imagine him in a white stretch satin jumpsuit with a metallic crotch. Show starts at 8 p.m. Call 786-777-1240.
SUN 9/28
Isabel may have passed us by (damn it... we were really looking forward to some killer hurricane parties), but you may have noticed that swells got just a teeny bit bigger over the past week. Nice to see something rolling in off the Atlantic other than little kiddie-pool waves. Of course, the best thing about getting some nice waves pounding the coast line (other than reenacting From Here to Eternity with your favorite significant other) is the surfing. For those who haven't done it yet -- you think you've lived, but you just haven't. It's not too late to hang ten, though, and park ranger Rob Matriscino teaches you how at John D. McArthur Beach State Park (north end of Singer Island, West Palm Beach) at 2 p.m. Cost is $3.25 per car, and reservations are required. Call 561-624-6952.
MON 9/29
Kids 6 and older can learn how to reach out to deaf friends and neighbors each Monday and Wednesday at Lake Forest Park (3450 SW 48th Ave., Pembroke Park). The Hearing/Deaf Conservatory and Theatre offers Beginning American Sign Language from 6 to 7:30 p.m. each day. The course is designed to run six weeks and costs $75 for people age 15 and younger, $100 for age 16 and older. Call 954-985-1915.
TUE 9/30
Writing about art may seem as fruitless as dancing about architecture, but the ABC Art Book Club's bimonthly discussion on art and culture brings a little levity to the situation. The topic of the round-table discussion this month is John Updike's Just Looking: Essays on Art. Updike's novels and short stories have tended to focus on religion, middle-class tragedy, and the saga of the American family. His foray into the art world is no less brilliant, critiquing works by Renoir, Monet, Degas, and Andrew Wyeth and musing on more-obscure artists such as New Yorker cartoonist Ralph Barton. Speak your mind and get some culture at 6:30 p.m. at the Palm Beach Institute of Contemporary Art (601 Lake Ave., Lake Worth). Lecture is free. Call 561-582-0006, or visit www.palmbeachica.org.
WED 10/1
Can it be that Derek Trucks has gone soft?! Say it ain't so! The guitar-slingin' prodigy's latest release, Soul Serenade, leaves behind the raucous blues rock Trucks has become known for and instead flows along pacifically on a sea of modern jazz. But for fans of Trucks, this evolution should come as little surprise. The man's previous album, 2002's Joyful Noise, somehow successfully blended elements of Indian and Latin music into his Southern-rock roots. This time around, those roots have all but disappeared -- only the heavy Hammond organ and an occasional bluesy solo remind the listener of Trucks' usual work with the Allman Brothers Band. Still, this is not a bad thing -- Trucks couldn't keep sounding like Duane Allman forever, and this represents a new direction for the whiz kid. Check him out live at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts (201 SW Fifth Ave., Fort Lauderdale) at 8 p.m. Tickets cost $22.50.
