Oy to the World
Chances are that most folks will be focused on traditional late December matters this week: traveling, cooking, gifting, and spending time with their loved ones. There are good reasons to hit the town amidst the ongoing cold and snow, though, including: live music by Anna Laube and Mark Whitcomb, and Mad Toast Live featuring Robert J. Conaway; a visit by Dick Vitale; the Barbara Probst photography exhibit at MMoCA; and, the annual Christmas Eve show "Oy to the World" by Jodi Cohen. Happy Holidays!
Monday 12.22
High Noon Saloon, 8pm
San Francisco's Anna Laube mixes jazz, folk and old-school country influences in a way that pays homage to artists such as Joni Mitchell and Lucinda Williams yet sounds unique enough to nestle its way into your brain. This week she teams up with Mark Whitcomb, a friend from her school days in Madison and the guitarist of local favorite Lorenzo's Music. Acoustic singer-songwriter Zachary Scot Johnson opens.
Tuesday 12.23
University Book Store-Hilldale, 3 pm
The sports broadcasting great checks in to sign his tome Fabulous 50 Players & Moments in College Basketball. Awesome, baby. Did we just say that?
Mad Toast Live featuring Robert J. Conaway
Brink Lounge, 7 pm
Conaway, part of the new Americana five-piece the Rowdy Prairie Dogs, whose album Revenge of the Rowdy Prairie Dogs just made the final cut for the Independent Music Awards' prize for Best Alt-Country Album of 2008, is the featured guest at Chris Wagoner and Mary Gaines' weekly musical variety show.
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, through March 8
The New York- and Munich-based photographer uses arrays of coordinated cameras to capture events from several angles simultaneously.
Wednesday 12.24
Imperial Garden-West, 5:30 & 7:30 pm
Local comedian Jodi Cohen reprises her one-woman tour de force, a dinner/theater experience for those with a hankering to go out when others are home gazing at the Christmas tree. Drawing on her improvisational skill, Cohen explores holiday family dynamics, gift exchanges and football. She plays a wide range of comic characters, including a Wisconsin macaroni sculptor, a Bronx carpenter and White House press secretary Samantha Wingit.
Watch a video excerpt from her show.
