Madfest Juggling Extravaganza
The spring arts season really revs up this weekend. The calendar includes: the Segredo grand opening; productions of Tarantara! Tarantara! and Cattywompus; Automata at the Chazen; the Wedding Planner & Guide Bridal Show; the Madfest Juggling Extravaganza; stand-up by Rodney Carrington and reading by Janice Y.K. Lee; Opera Up Close; and, live music by Dustin Zahn, Sonoi, Bryan Bowers, The Midwesterners, The Goodyear Pimps, Jon Wayne & the Pain, Ralph's World, Madison Youth Choirs, The Shtetlblasters, and Bowerbirds.
Friday 1.15
NEW MOON
NOTEWORTHY: Green Bay Packers beat Kansas City Chiefs 35-10 in Super Bowl I, 1967.
Grand opening
Segredo, 7 pm
The new downtown nightspot tries out an untested concept in Madison nightlife: boutique, Brazil-style bowling. It won't be like the bowling you watch in a Saturday-afternoon daze on ESPN2. The first ball is rolled at 8 pm.
Bartell Theatre, 7:30 pm. Also Sunday, Jan. 17, 3 pm Madison Theatre Guild joins forces with Madison Savoyards, the Gilbert and Sullivan troupe, for this "play with music" about the legendary Victorian librettist W.S. Gilbert and composer Arthur Sullivan, of Pirates of Penzance fame (see preview).
Broom Street Theater, 8 pm. Also Saturday (8 pm) & Sunday (2 pm), Jan. 16 & 17
The zany east-side troupe kicks off the new year with this comedy about a man trying to keep his life and family under control as his wedding approaches. It's the directing debut of Christina Beller and the writing debut of Beller and Justin Lawfer.
Alchemy Cafe, 10 pm
It's hip-hop Friday at the local watering hole, when two local groups serve up tasty beats and rhymes to accompany your microbrew and sweet potato fries.
High Noon Saloon, 10 pm
The Minneapolis techno king is in the house. Zahn's beats are moody, tribal and completely intoxicating, with a huge bass and a groove of loops that rarely seem repetitive. With Prognition, Kirk Leinenkugel and Pat Fait.
Saturday 1.16
BIRTHDAY: Sullen English mega-model Kate Moss, 1974.
Automata: Contemporary Mechanical Sculpture
Chazen Museum of Art, through March 14
The UW's art museum presents an exhibition of more than 25 playful mechanical sculptures, including Neil Hardy's The Early Bird and Dean Lucker's Man Drinking in the Moon. Check out a lecture by curator Cassie Wilkins and reception on Jan. 22 (6:30 pm).
Wedding Planner & Guide Bridal Show
Alliant Energy Center's Exhibition Hall, 10 am-5 pm. Also Sunday, Jan. 17, 11 am-4:30 pm
Attention brides: With the U.S. economy still on its knees, our only hope is for you to spend, spend, spend on flowers, apparel, food, booze, music and all the rest. So find your ideally matched vendors at this expo.
Overture Center, 7 pm
The bawdy cowboy comedian/singer went back to full-time touring after his TV sitcom ended a few years ago. He claims to have matured, but you'll still get your fill of jokes about sex, drinking and fighting, as well as songs like "Letter to My Penis."
Borders Books West, 7 pm
The Hong Kong-based author is a veteran of the world of fashion magazines. Her debut novel, The Piano Teacher, is set in Hong Kong, and in plot threads set just before and after World War II, it tells intertwining love stories.
Wisconsin Union Theater, 7 pm
The annual gathering draws object manipulators from far and wide, some silly and some stunning. This year's special guest is Cirque du Soleil performer Steven Ragatz. There's also a "renegade" show later in the evening at the High Noon Saloon (10:30 pm). Madfest is part of the free Juggling Festival held at MATC-Truax (Jan. 15-17), with beginning workshops, games and competitions open to all.
Project Lodge, 7:30 pm
The Chicago rock trio composed of two members of Manishevitz and a songwriting drummer who's been featured on This American Life hit the Project Lodge to prepare for their upcoming CD-release party at their hometown hangout, the Hideout. Fellow Hideout hangers Judson Claiborne will create some atmosphere with dreamy country waltzes and folk ballads.
Brink Lounge, 8 pm
One of the country's premier autoharp players, Bowers started out performing tunes in the street and grew into an inspiration for fans and students of traditional music, wowing crowds with his technical skill and enchanting stage presence. Local folkster Isaac Stafstrom opens.
Harmony Bar, 9:45 pm
With Richard Wiegel out front, Madison's Midwesterners pick some fiery old-time rock 'n' roll and honky-tonkin' Americana.
Frequency, 10 pm
After a brush with the majors, the Goodyear Pimps have concentrated on lathering up Midwesterners with a dance-floor-filling blend of punk, funk and metal. With Axiom and Perverse Engineer.
Annex, 10 pm
Wayne makes reggae-flavored ska by way of the Twin Cities, using the music to spread a gospel of forgiveness that pays tribute to the struggle with homelessness and addiction he endured several years ago. Waukesha ska-sters Something to Do kick off the show.
Sunday 1.17
BIRTHDAY: Civil rights leader/three-time heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali, 1942.
High Noon Saloon, 11 am
Ralph Covert came out of Chicago's indie-rock scene (he led the pop-rockers the Bad Examples), and that experience serves him well in his incarnation as a popular children's musician. His bouncy songs are so melodically hip that they hook parents as well as their kids.
MATC-Truax's Mitby Theater, 3 pm
The young singers apply their heavenly voices to a program called "Night at the Opera," with excerpts from Carmen, The Magic Flute and other works.
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 4 pm
This installment of Madison Opera's community-education series previews the company's staging of Benjamin Britten's The Turn of the Screw, which opens Jan. 28 in the Overture Playhouse.
Project Lodge, 7:30 pm
These five Yiddish-loving electro addicts will kick out the jams klezmer-style with a clarinet, synths, electric mandolin and all sorts of wacky permutations, unveiling a new CD in the process.
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
John Darnielle's "new favorite band in forever" are back in town to share selections from their 2009 album Upper Air -- and perhaps a few new tunes as well. Introspective Brooklynite Sharon Van Etten opens, along with Minneapolis indie-folk duo Peter Wolf Crier. See Tour Stop.
