Spring is certainly here, and the timing couldn't be any better. Celebrate this week with the St. Patrick's Day Music Festival and a reunion show by The Kissers, and keep the party going with more live music by The Queers, Susan Werner, Pussy Vultures and This Bright Apocalypse, Goodpussy and Foxy Veronica's Peach Pies, the North Indiana All Stars, and a performance of "The Life & Music of Mary Lou Williams."
Monday 3.16
NOTEWORTHY: My Lai massacre, 1968.
BIRTHDAYS: Republican cloth-coat-wearing former First Lady Pat Nixon, 1912; dreamy French actress Isabelle Huppert, 1953.
Tuesday 3.17
ST. PATRICK'S DAY
NOTEWORTHY: Former Milwaukee resident Golda Meir sworn in as Israeli prime minister, 1969.
BIRTHDAYS: Ballet legend Rudolf Nureyev, 1938; soccer icon Mia Hamm, 1972.
St. Patrick's Day Music Festival
Claddagh Irish Pub (Middleton), 1 pm
The hard-rocking post-grunge dudes of Sponge revive the Seattle sound -- funneled through Detroit -- and some newer songs, while Louisville's favorite metal-gone-acoustic band, Days of the New, fuel your fantasies of throwing furniture and shaving your head, at least if you remember the video for their 1997 hit "Touch, Peel and Stand." Also playing: the Love Monkeys, Old Tin Can String Band, Boo Bradley, the Pints, Dueling Pianos and DJ Brooks.
High Noon Saloon, 8:30 pm
The Irish are famous for their ghost stories, so the resurrection of this local Irish-American pub-rock outfit for a St. Patty's Day show should be the stuff of legends. Catch them before they disappear for another year -- or at least until Waylan Nate Palan crashes in town again.
The Frequency, 9:30 pm
If there's anything the Queers are not, it's politically correct. They're the ones who did that 1993 album called Love Songs for the Retarded, followed by 1994's equally mature Beat Off, and they're likely to throw in a bubblegum cover of a Tommy James & the Shondells tune just to mess with you. Poison Arrows, Moral Disgust and YLab open.
Wednesday 3.18
NOTEWORTHY: The Clash release "White Riot," 1977.
BIRTHDAYS: Blues great Wilson Pickett, 1941; rapper/actress Queen Latifah, 1970.
Brink Lounge, 7 pm
The Chicago-based singer and songwriter has been recording in the folk genre since 1993, though she also has branched into jazz and cabaret sounds. On her latest release, Classics, she performs tunes by the likes of Paul McCartney, the Beach Boys and Marvin Gaye.
Thursday 3.19
NOTEWORTHY: Sydney Harbor Bridge opens, 1932.
BIRTHDAYS: Lost & found African explorer David Livingstone, 1813; Tony/Emmy-winning actress Glenn Close, 1947.
Pussy Vultures, This Bright Apocalypse
High Noon Saloon, 6 pm
There's definitely a theme going on with band names at the High Noon Saloon this Thursday. One band named after either pet cats or lady parts kicks off the night, while another one wraps it up (see below). The early show also features This Bright Apocalypse, one of the few bands in town to name both Fela Kuti and Fugazi as influences. Also playing: Robbers.
The Life & Music of Mary Lou Williams
Capitol Lakes Grand Hall, 7:30 pm
Madison poet laureate Fabu Carter Brisco, pianist Jane Reynolds and bassist John Mesoloras collaborate on a program celebrating legendary jazz pianist and composer Williams, who is commemorated each May by the Kennedy Center's Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Festival.
Goodpussy, Foxy Veronica's Peach Pies
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
Take the pussy theme even further with a funky metal jam session by Goodpussy and a dirty, flirty caburlesque show courtesy of Foxy Veronica's Peach Pies. Also playing: pat mAcdonald and melaniejane.
Orpheum Theatre's Stage Door, 8 pm
Didn't get enough of Umphrey's McGee during its five-night stay at the Barrymore a few weeks ago? Three of its members return to town with a few friends and a musical alter ego: another crowd-pleasing jam band. Baghdad Scuba Review opens.
