Wikipedia
Jens Lekman
Friday 3.28
Mae
Majestic Theatre, 7 pm
Mae's tuneful alternative rock anthems don't score high marks for originality, but U2 fans might get off on the hopeful Christian side of their musical personality.
Madison Symphony Orchestra
Overture Center's Overture Hall, 7:30 pm. Also Saturday (8 pm) & Sunday (2:30 pm), March 29 & 30
Guest soloist Emanuel Ax performs Chopin's yearning "Piano Concerto No. 2 in F Minor." The program also includes Manuel de Falla's "Three-Cornered Hat: Suite No. 2" and Vaughan Williams' "Symphony No. 2."
Li Chiao-Ping Dance
Overture Center's Promenade Hall, 8 pm. Also Thursday & Saturday, March 27 & 29, 8 pm
Li, the star UW dancer/choreographer, presents a new troupe in a performance called "Dancing Between the Lines." It includes work based on current events as well as a solo choreographed for Li by Victoria Marks.
Peter Takács
Morphy Hall in the UW Humanities Bldg., 8 pm
An Oberlin professor, the pianist has won the William Kapell International Competition and performed as a guest soloist with major orchestras. He performs works by Beethoven, Debussy and Chopin, and will be joined by Howard Karp for a two-piano sonata by Brahms.
Bonerama
Overture Center's Capitol Theater, 8 pm
Genre-blending collaborations with OK Go. A bodacious cover of Sabbath's "War Pigs." Funk that would shake a dead man out of the grave. No, New Orleans' furiously fun, trombone-powered Bonerama aren't your typical brass band.
Stars
Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm
Stars' swelling synths, deliberate rhythms, and alternately sweet and theatrical boy/girl vocals might strike some as overwrought. But it's easy to lose yourself in the Canadian quintet's whooshing pop explosion. Martin Royle opens.
Black Moth Super Rainbow
UW Memorial Union Rathskeller, 9:30 pm
Thanks to their liberal use of vocoder, these indie freaks sometimes come across as a less regimented version of Daft. Whatever drugs they're on, we want some.
Freezepop
Club 770 in UW Union South, 9:30 pm
Freezepop's electronic bonbons would have fit right in during the height of the '80s synth-pop movement. A truly post-music-industry act, they've expanded their following with songs in popular video games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero.
Cabaret and Burlesque Evening
Bartell Theatre, 10 pm
StageQ joins with Foxy Veronica's Peach Pies for an evening of sexy songs and other grownup pleasures.
DJ Rehka
Majestic Theatre, 11 pm
The hyper-creative New York DJ pumps up bhangra-basted grooves and other sonic delights. She'll have the creatures of night blissing out in no time.
Saturday 3.29
Dragonwings
Hemsley Theatre in UW Vilas Hall, 7:30 pm. Also Sunday, March 30, 2 pm
This Theatre for Youth production by University Theatre tells the story of a Chinese boy who comes the America in 1928, helping his father build an airplane. Suitable for children 8 and up, the play is adapted by Laurence Yep from his children's book.
Patty Larkin
Majestic Theatre, 7 pm
Larkin is a masterful singer-songwriter as well as a legitimate guitar hero. With luck, she'll concentrate on material from her sophisticated new CD, Watch the Sky.
Jenny Magnus
Mother Fool's Coffeehouse, 8 pm
Chicago's Magnus (ex-Maestro Subgum and the Whole) is an innovative singer whose work in theater shows through on the tone poems, cabaret pieces and stylish blues that appear on her new CD, Songs From Shows. Stephanie Rearick opens.
Charles Walker Blues Band
Brink Lounge, 9 pm
Saxophonist Walker and his Wisconsin-based blues band celebrate the release of their first CD on the national Lucky 13 Records.
The Felice Brothers
UW Memorial Union Rathskeller, 9:30 pm
The Felice Brothers' loping, lonesome sounds have made them one of the best young Americana bands around.
Lewis & Clarke
Annex, 9 pm
The trance-y chamber folk on Lewis & Clarke's Blasts of Holy Birth is often so ethereal it hurts. No doubt the trio will be just as magical in person. A Catapult Western, Matt Jennings and Patchwork open.
Madison Hardcore Fest
Club 770 in UW Union South, 9:30 pm
Wear sturdy shoes and bring along a bag of earplugs, 'cause the Repos, Modern Life Is War and Weekend Nachos mean to do some damage.
Altered Five
Harmony Bar, 9:45 pm
Big-voiced Jeff "JT" Taylor throws himself into this rising Milwaukee unit's blues and R&B takes on familiar pop and rock cover material. Who knew "Brass in Pocket" could groove this hard?
Sunday 3.30
Maple Syrup Fest
Aldo Leopold Nature Center in Monona, 1 pm
Kids can see how Native Americans and pioneers tapped trees for maple syrup and sugar, and try it out themselves. All very educational, but did we mention that the event includes fresh syrup served over ice cream?
MacGregor/Rubinstein New Orleans Jazz
Coliseum Bar, 2 pm
The band is based in Milwaukee, but it wails Bourbon Street-style in its traditional-jazz breakdowns.
Still Remains
Loft in the Lussier Teen Center, 7 pm
Having softened their metalcore side and discovered melody, the Christian metallions are clearly readying themselves for much larger venues than the local youth club.
Jens Lekman
UW Music Hall, 7:30 pm
The much-ballyhooed Swedish singer floats and quavers through passionate, at times terribly arch pop tunes that bear the influence of Magnetic Fields and Morrissey. The jury's still out on whether he's a genius or just another clever charlatan. The Honeydrips open.
Frederica Von Stade
Wisconsin Union Theater, 8 pm
The mezzo-soparano has been in the top rank of opera singers since the 1970s, performing a remarkable range of styles. Her concert is organized by theme, including Roses, Religion and Shady Ladies, with material that stretches from Schubert to Sondheim to American standards.
Vandaveer
Cafe Montmartre, 8 pm
Mark Charles Heidinger's rarefied music machine references various arty strummers in its brainy digi-pop and bent story songs.
The Giraffes
Annex, 9:30 pm
The Brooklyn-based hardcore vets have a reputation for putting on a menacing live show. If you harbor big love for MC-5, make sure to be there.
