Raleigh
Chess Play
Harrison Regional Library–Increased cognitive development, higher math scores, increased spatial sense, better memory, higher self-esteem: No, these aren’t the results of sending your kid to a tutorial center, but they do represent the results of three decades of scientific research into the effects of children playing chess. As the summer approaches, let your kid take a respite from the sun and exercise her mind learning the rules of the game. Admission is free for the Future Kings & Queens Chess Academy, a weekly exercise inviting all skill levels ages 8 and above to learn the rules and try them out. It starts at 6 p.m. For more, see www.wakegov.com/libraries.
Durham
Des Ark, In the Year of the Pig
Chaz’s Bull City Records–Aimee Argote and former Des Ark drummer Tim Herzog split ways last year after releasing a furious debut, Loose Lips Sink Ships. Argote still bears the name, though, as she bares intimate details and earnest misgivings with an alt-tuned acoustic guitar, a stomped boot and a gnarled voice tearing at the expanse between indignation, exasperation and indifference. It’s powerful at the same level as Des Ark’s earlier incarnation, but it takes a route that’s as unsuspected as it is indelible. If you’re expecting all quiet times, though, you haven’t heard In the Year of the Pig–belligerent, feedback-fueled anti-anthems with pants and animal hats from Chapel Hill–or D.C.’s destructive Attrition. The show starts at 9 p.m.
–Grayson Currin
