Citizen Cope
Madison concert-goers are treated to a strong line-up of live music this week. Along with a talk by Andrei Codrescu, the calendar includes shows by Disturbed, King Khan & the Shrines, Cobra Skulls, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Citizen Cope, Roger Clyne & the Peacemakers, and Truth & Salvage Co.
Monday 10.4
NOTEWORTHY: Janis Joplin found dead, 1970.
BIRTHDAYS: Oscar-winning actress/activist Susan Sarandon, 1946; rapper Russell Simmons, 1957.
Alliant Energy Center's Coliseum, 6:30 pm
Disturbed has been creeping away from its nu-metal roots and toward a more classic hard-rock sound on its past few albums, but most fans don't seem to mind. Its latest studio album, Asylum, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, making it the third band in history to land four first-place debuts. With Avenged Sevenfold, Stone Sour, Hellyeah, Hale the Villain, Airbourne and New Medicine.
Wisconsin Union Theater, 7:30 pm
The Romanian-born poet and NPR commentator speaks on "Swimming Between Languages: Learning English by Osmosis and Other Adventures."
Tuesday 10.5
BIRTHDAYS: Boomtown Rats singer-songwriter and Band Aid/Live Aid/Live 8 organizer Bob Geldof, 1954; actress Kate Winslet, 1975.
Annex, 8:30 pm
What happens when a bunch of Montreal garage punks dive headlong into psychedelic soul music, then move to the electronic music and performance art haven of Berlin? You get this screwy, groovy ensemble featuring a go-go dancing cheerleader, a front man in his skivvies and one of the weirdest organists in the western world. With Gentleman Jesse and His Men.
Frequency, 9 pm
This Reno, Nev., punk band rally crowds of rockers with their awesome bass lines and lyrics that bounce from Spanish insults to English battle cries. With Tribal Call.
Wednesday 10.6
NOTEWORTHY: Egyptian president & Nobel Peace Prize laureate Anwar el-Sadat assassinated, 1981.
Majestic Theatre, 8:30 pm
The group's melodic raps influenced lots of hip-hop artists in the mid-'90s and even won them a few Best Rap Performance Grammys, despite being edged out of the Best Rap Album prize by Naughty By Nature. Check out tunes from their eighth studio album, Uni5: The World's Enemy, at this show. With Star Persons and Tefman.
Thursday 10.7
BIRTHDAYS: Russian President Vladimir Putin, 1952; Grammy-winning vocalist Toni Braxton.
Wisconsin Union Theater, 8 pm
Clarence Greenwood, a.k.a. Citizen Cope, has earned comparisons to Marvin Gaye but isn't just a super-soulful songwriter. His skills as a keyboardist, guitarist, DJ and producer help his band spin blues, folk and hip-hop into an eclectic and eminently likable brand of rock, especially on its new album, The Rainwater LP.
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
Heading south of the border doesn't have to involve a passport or a trip to Taco Bell. Clyne is an expert at weaving Southwestern themes into his band's lyrics and melodies, and he might even perform "Banditos," the popular theme song for King of the Hill, which he recorded with his previous band, the Refreshments.
UW Memorial Union Terrace, 9:30 pm
These protégés of Black Crowes front man Chris Robinson blend Americana and Southern rock to produce an easygoing twang reminiscent of a good old-fashioned country song from the early 1970s, long before Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood were even born. With Pioneer.
