Olbrich Botanical Gardens
Blooming Butterflies
The summer arts season eases into its latter this week with an Andre Ferrella exhibition at the Wisconsin Veterans Museum, the opening days of the Dane County Fair, and the return of Blooming Butterflies to Olbrich Gardens. The calendar also includes an operatic pop-themed Concerts on the Square; a bike polo tournament preview party; and, more live music by The King & the Thief, Jonas Sees in Color, Red Baraat with Reptile Palace Orchestra, Liars, and Adler's Appetite.
Monday 7.12
BIRTHDAYS: Fleetwood Mac singer/keyboardist Christine Perfect McVie, 1943.
Project Lodge, 7 pm
Here's more proof that Madison's a hip suburb of Minneapolis: Lovable Twin Cities indie rockers the King & the Thief are doing a CD release party here, just 24 hours after they debut the album in their real backyard. With Dignan and the Conductors.
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
The Greensboro, N.C., band is named after a children's book by Lois Lowry, but that doesn't prevent them from rocking out. If you're a fan of Kings of Leon, My Morning Jacket or Band of Horses, this is just the kind of thing you'll want to soak up on a Monday night. With Windsor Drive and Cait & the Girls.
Tuesday 7.13
NOTEWORTHY: Live Aid concerts for African famine relief at Philadelphia's JFK Stadium & London's Wembley Field, 1985.
Andre Ferrella: Rise of the Fallen
Wisconsin Veterans Museum, through Oct. 31
Madison artist Ferrella presents his "spirit boxes," portraits of the 101 Wisconsin service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. See a of the exhibit.
Red Baraat, Reptile Palace Orchestra
Annex, 9 pm
After taking in a set by this nine-piece bhangra brass band from Brooklyn, you'll find your sleep filled with dreams about John Philip Sousa hanging with DJ Rekha in a sticky New Orleans funk joint. Catch the opening set by Reptile Palace Orchestra, and the dream will be set in a bayou bat mitzvah.
Wednesday 7.14
BASTILLE DAY
BIRTHDAYS: Actor Harry Dean Stanton, 1926.
Alliant Energy Center, through July 18
Dane County displays its bounty: sheep, horses, pigs, cows and frighteningly large rabbits. On the non-furry end of things, there's a carnival, a hypnotist, live music and more. It's time to eat your weight in deep-fried anything.
Olbrich Gardens, 10 am-4 pm and through Aug. 8
The annual event offers an up-close look at the miracle of metamorphosis. More than a dozen species of butterflies emerge from their chrysalises and flutter picturesquely around the Bolz Conservatory.
Capitol Square, 7 pm
As the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra's outdoor pops season rolls on, guest conductor Michael Krajewski leads the ensemble in a program called "POPERAzzi!," with a Sinatra medley, music from Jersey Boys and a salute to Pavarotti, among other things.
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
The dance-punk band's latest release, Sisterworld, is a collection of songs about the alternate spaces people create to make living in L.A. bearable. They got some of their biggest influences to remix the tracks on a bonus disc, including Radiohead's Thom Yorke, Throbbing Gristle's Carter Tutti and Blonde Redhead's Kazu Makino, whose takes on L.A. life are pretty staggering. With John Wiese.
Thursday 7.15
NOTEWORTHY: MSNBC debuts, 1996.
North American Bike Polo Championships registration party
High Noon Saloon, 7 pm
This could be the most hipsterrific party of the summer, with loads of skinny jeans, psychedelic electronic experiments and heated debates about fixies versus Italian racing bikes. The event's free for those registering for the big tournament, with live music by Peaking Lights, Dead Luke, Dylan Ettinger & the Heat and Circuit Des Yeux. See a preview of the tournament.
Frequency, 10 pm
Former Guns N' Roses drummer Steven Adler has teamed up with ex-Quiet Riot guitarist Alex Grossi, Chip Z'Nuff of Enuff Z'Nuff and others to perform Appetite for Destruction in its entirety and drop a few hints about an in-the-works album of their own. With Blackie, Limb and Sally Grundy.
