Art Garfunkel
Good listening skills will be essential in Madison this week, given the impressive cast of speakers and musicians heading to town. The agenda for this busy month continues with Lunafest; talks by Kwame Anthony Appiah, Gerda Lerner, Rufus Phillips, and Noam Chomsky; and live music by Good Old War, Child Bite, Papermoons, The Drones, Greensky Bluegrass with New Mountain Kickers, Mariza, The Trews, Art Garfunkel, D.N.A. Land, and Quintron with Miss Pussycat.
Monday 4.6
NOTEWORTHY: Plasmatics frontwoman Wendy O. Williams dies, 1998.
BIRTHDAYS: Labor/women's rights activist Rose Schneiderman, 1882; Pixies singer-songwriter Frank Black, 1965.
UW Memorial Union's Tripp Commons, 6:30 pm
The film festival aims to promote awareness of women's issues and showcase women filmmakers. It includes 10 films that cover such topics as body image, social anxiety disorder and women's wrestling.
Chazen Museum of Art, 7:30 pm
The distinguished Princeton philosophy prof discusses "Cosmopolitanism: Ethics in a World of Strangers." He's all about finding, in global relations, a higher moral ground that's about neither the clash of civilizations nor moral relativism. Sounds good.
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
Rising from the ashes of defunct Fueled By Ramen prog group Days Away, Good Old War has been making a more folky and accessible style of music than their previous band for about a year. Cast Spells and Daniel & the Lion open.
Frequency, 9:30 pm
Child Bite puts the "post" in "post-punk" with unusual instruments such as joysticks and theremins, plus the usual drum-and-guitar combo. Expect some special guests to join the five-member group to add strings, vocals and maybe even a bit of dancing. Old Fake and Sally Grundy open.
Tuesday 4.7
BIRTHDAYS: Martial arts movie star Jackie Chan.
A Room of One's Own, 6:30 pm
The UW history professor emerita is a women's studies guru, with volumes like The Woman in American History and The Creation of Feminist Consciousness under her belt. She'll read from her new book, Living with History/Making Social Change.
Wisconsin Veterans Museum, 7 pm
In 1954 the former CIA operative was on the ground in Vietnam, and he saw the unholy mess that was the U.S. intervention develop. He's here to talk about "Why Vietnam Matters: An Eyewitness Account of Lessons Not Learned." The event is part of the museum's April lecture series on the Vietnam War, one of history's greatest bummers. Visit Noam Chomsky
Orpheum Theater, 7:30 pm
The famous linguist/lefty makes an appearance to talk about "Assessing the Role of U.S. Foreign Policy, Israeli Security and Human Rights in the Occupied Palestinian Territories." The talk is part of the UW Middle East Studies program's lecture series on U.S. policy in Israel and Palestine; visit mideast.wisc.edu for more info.
Frequency, 9:30 pm
Austin duo Papermoons' indie pop is gentle, peaceful and melodic without being boring. In fact, it might be just what you need to calm down during a stressful or hectic week. Garrett Ramquist opens.
Wednesday 4.8
BIRTHDAYS: Princess Bride-turned-Sean bride Robin Wright Penn, 1966.
Frequency, 9 pm
The hard-rocking foursome have earned raves in their native Australia, and now they're touring the U.S. to drum up some attention for their latest release, Havilah. They've been known to cover Neil Young's "Cortez the Killer," so you know they're serious.
Greensky Bluegrass, New Mountain Kickers
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
The nine-year-old bluegrass outfit out of Kalamazoo, Mich., is best known for its live concerts, or, more accurately, Appalachian jam fests. With New Mountain Kickers.
Wisconsin Union Theater, 8 pm
The singer helps keep alive the mournful Portuguese musical tradition of fado, despite its having endured some artistically lean years under Portugal's right-wing government of António de Oliveira Salazar (see preview).
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
The Canadian rock band went from a small-town favorite to a national phenomenon after winning a radio talent contest in 2002. Now the Trews are trying to expand their popularity in the U.S., visiting Madison and a slew of other cities and opening for the Tragically Hip in May. Read more about the band's rise to fame in this week's Tour Stop. Leslie and Sexy Ester & the Pretty Mama Sisters open.
Thursday 4.9
FULL MOON
BIRTHDAYS: Playboy publisher/pajama mannequin Hugh Hefner, 1926.
Overture Hall, 7:30 pm
The guy is unstoppable. He's an actor. A writer. A poet. He appeared on a Flight of the Conchords episode earlier this year. Oh yeah, he's a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame-honored singer, thanks to his work in a duo with some other guy. And that sweet tenor of his remains a powerful instrument.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
Kyle Hollingsworth, keyboardist with jam favorites String Cheese Incident, currently on hiatus, rolls into town with his combo D.N.A. Land. The trio creates a funky sound with -- guess what! -- lots of improvisation. With Family Groove Company.
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
The usually one-man band of Quintron -- tonight supplemented by his wife, Miss Pussycat, on maracas and backup vocals -- is as much an inventor as a musician, sporting a spliced-together Hammond organ and Fender Rhodes with headlights and a Louisiana license plate, as well as the Drum Buddy, a rotating analog synth that's activated by light and that the musician himself patented. Psychedelic Horseshit and Zola Jesus open.