Rock and Roll Hall of Fame exhibit opens at Carson City's BAC ahead of outdoor concert
Submitted by Jeff Munson on Tue, 07/19/2022 - 9:11am
Event Date:
July 23, 2022 - 5:00pm
The Brewery Arts Center will open a new exhibition "Part of the Machine Rock & Pinball" on loan from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, beginning Saturday night, July 23, ahead of the Levitt AMP Carson City outdoor music series.
The exhibit features playable retro pinball machines with corresponding Rock & Roll artifacts. Some of the items include the KISS pinball machine with Peter Kris’ drum set, “Tommy” pinball machine with Pete Townshend’s guitar and many more.
"Come play real, working pinball machines along side ... artifacts and memorabilia from the biggest names in Rock & Roll," according to the BAC.
The "Part of the Machine Rock & Pinball" exhibit will be on display at the BAC Artisan Gallery until at least October, said BAC Executive Director Gina Lopez.
In the spirit of barrier free that accompanies each Levitt event, the Brewery Arts Center is offering the exhibition with free admission every Saturday from 5 to 7 p.m. before each Levitt event.
The exhibit will then be available to see from 3 to 7 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and noon to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. Go here for admission information.
According to the Brewery Arts Center website page about the exhibit:
For the first time out west, the BAC hosts this interactive exhibit from the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. The first pinball machine was produced in 1931 and, almost immediately, the game was labeled a menace to society, a time-waster and corrupter of youth. Considered gambling, pinball was banned from the early 1940s to the mid-1970s in most American big cities.
Naturally, it became a symbol of youth and rebellion, right along with rock & roll. The marriage of rock and pinball was formalized in 1969 when the Who released Tommy. The rock opera highlighted the mad pinball skills of pinball wizard Tommy Walker.
Since then, numerous superstars have been artistically immortalized on pinball games — wedding the power and energy of rock & roll to the silver ball.
Fans can view pioneering pinball machines of their favorite musicians such as Captain Fantastic (1976), based on the album by Elton John and his character in Tommy; and Beat Time (1967), one of the oldest rock and roll tables which capitalizes on Beatlemania, featuring several mop-topped musicians and a drumhead emblazoned with “The Bootles.”
Other rare and sought-after playable machines in the exhibit pay tribute to the Rolling Stones, Guns N’ Roses, Elvis, Metallica, and KISS.
From Peter Criss of KISS’ drum set to Pete Townshend's guitar, fans will find other artifacts on display as they learn more about the popular pinball and rock subculture.
The Levitt AMP Carson City Music Series presented by The Change Companies returns Saturday beginning at 7 p.m. with headliner Tropa Magica and opening act Drinking With Clowns.
Invigorating, brilliant and charismatic are just a few of the adjectives used to describe Tropa Magica. “The East L.A. duo made a name for themselves by combining alternative, grunge, and psychedelic rock with cumbia,” according to Spin Magazine.
Having toured nationally and on multiple southwest and west coast tours, they have supported established acts such as Bomba Estereo, Molotov, and comedian Felipe Esparza. The band has boldly and successfully taken on larger LA stages at venues such as The Microsoft Theater, El Rey Theater and The Hollywood Palladium.
In 2018 and 2019 Tropa Magica performed at So-Cal festival favorites Desert Daze and Tropicalia. At the end of 2019 the band self released a limited edition 7inch vinyl EP “Smells Like Cumbia” featuring Nirvana songs as cumbia renditions.
Despite the pandemic, 2020 was a busy year for the band. They wrote and recorded the theme song for comedian Felipe Esparza’s new Netflix special and collaborated with the notorious Foo’s Gone Wild on the “Foo Files Cumbia” track released earlier this year. The band has partnered up as “authenticos” with 805/Firestone Beer and is sponsored by Fender guitars and Ernie Ball. See www.tropamagica.com.
Levitt AMP Carson City offers an extremely diverse line up filling out the rest of the summer. On July 30 we will present (for their first time out west) The Vindys, Bad Mother Nature on Aug. 6, Grammy Nominee Danielle Nicole-Aug. 13, Eddie 9V-Aug. 20, and High Step Society will finish the series on Aug. 27.
The public is invited to bring their own picnics, blankets and lawn chairs to the concerts, which has an open setting. There will be food trucks, drink vendors and kids activities at every concert. The Levitt AMP concert series is located at 449 West King Street at the corner of King and Minnesota Streets. Admission is free. Visit breweryarts.org for a full schedule of concerts, directions and information on parking and wheelchair accessibility.
