Monday 9.15
Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm
This Finnish cello trio (plus drummer) excels at gussying up Wagnerian heavy metal with strings, proving that black leather-clad hellions can get along just fine without one of those funny-looking six-string contraptions. DJ Southpaw also appears.
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
To their credit, the L.A. psychedelians channel the spirit of Ennio Morricone's iconic spaghetti western soundtracks without ripping them off. Their thick, acid-washed soundscapes make for a heady legal high. The Lavellas and Icarus Himself open.
Tuesday 9.16
University Book Store-Hilldale, 7 pm
In a timely talk, the professor emeritus in the UW's political science department discusses his latest tome, Wisconsin Votes: An Electoral History.
Abigail Washburn & the Sparrow Quartet
Barrymore Theatre, 7:30 pm
The guy plucking the banjo while Washburn sings her baroque, Joni Mitchell-influenced newgrass and folk music in both Mandarin and English is none other than instrumentalist superstar Bela Fleck. The rest of the Sparrow Quartet is just as special. Its cellist, Ben Sollee, opens.
Wednesday 9.17
Borders West, 7 pm
The former New Yorker staffer and Milwaukee native signs copies of her novel In the Land of No Right Angles, about what befalls a young American backpacker in Nepal.
Overture Center's Capitol Theater, 7 pm
The George Mason University government and politics professor is on hand to talk about "Wisconsin Politics and Government: America's Laboratory of Democracy." The talk is part of the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters' lecture series "Getting to Purple: Beyond the Red and Blue of Partisan Politics."
Majestic Theatre, 8 pm
Full-bore U.K. beatmasters Dan Le Sac Vs. Scroobius Pip eviscerated the pop beast on their devastating club hit "Thou Shalt Always Kill." And they certainly didn't shoot their whole wad on that chestnut. They're definitely the shit. B. Nolan opens.
Thursday 9.18
High Noon Saloon, 6:30 pm
The affable, Massachusetts-based singer-songwriter is in the middle of touring Wisconsin by bicycle, so forgive him if he takes on a few road songs. Antje Duvekot opens.
Majestic Theatre, 7:30 pm
Mainstream hard-rockers Trapt are certain to fade from memory as soon as the public stops buying their prefab product. When that'll happen is anyone's guess.