One of the oppressive summers in memory is gripping the land, but community celebrations and nightlife this weekend offer respite from the heat. The calendar includes: the Stoughton Fair; Lake Monona Water Walk; the Lost City Music Festival and Madison Early Music Festival; Livija Patikne and Lon Michels works exhibitions at the James Watrous Gallery; a production of Rubbery with Violets, Or, If You Can See This, Thank Your Optician; the Madison Songwriters Guild Showcase-Showdown; more live music from Wook, Cave, R. Ring, Youth Lagoon, Honor Among Thieves, and Nicolay with the Hot at Nights; and, Summerfest in Milwaukee.
Friday 7.6
NOTEWORTHY: John Lennon and Paul McCartney meet, 1957.
Summerfest Grounds in Milwaukee, through July 8
Madison daytrippers can find music for every taste in the last weekend of Milwaukee's gargantuan festival. On Friday there's Big Time Rush, Styx's Dennis DeYoung and Ikarus Down; On Saturday, Aerosmith, Cake and Common; and on Sunday, Neil Diamond, the B-52's and Bush.
Mandt Park, Stoughton, through July 8
The high season of summer is upon us, and it's time to explore the towns of Wisconsin on the fair circuit. This one is par for the course, with entertainment this weekend that includes pig wrestling, lawn mower racing and a tractor pull.
Winnequah Park, 6 pm. Through July 8
Here's a chance to pay homage to that wondrous body of water nestled between Williamson Street and Monona Drive. The Friday night kickoff event features bands, Native American dancers and speeches by notables like Mayor Paul Soglin. The daylong community festival on Saturday includes games, a film screening of Waterlife (8 pm), presentations and exhibitors. On Sunday is a sunrise ceremony (Frostwoods Beach, 6:30 am), a Lake Monona Water Walk (Frostwoods Beach, 9:30 am) and a potluck (3 pm).
Madison Songwriters Guild Showcase-Showdown
Bourbon Street Grille, Monona, 7:30 pm
John Duggleby will give The Price Is Right's Drew Carey a run for his money by hosting a showcase-showdown filled with music and prizes. After local singer-songwriters Stephen Lee Rich and Amanda Pool perform, the event will morph into a song competition and open mike.
Rubbery with Violets, Or, If You Can See This, Thank Your Optician
Broom Street Theater, 8 pm. Also Saturday, July 7, 8 pm
Broom Street presents this fast-paced original comedy about a receptionist's first day at a doctor's office. The play was written by Siobhan Edge and is directed by Jan Levine Thal.
High Noon Saloon, 9:30 pm
Milwaukee's Coo Woo will get fists pumpin' with their sunny, melodic punk, then Minneapolis' Fort Wilson Riot will swathe the stage in sweaty, shimmering dance-rock at this new festival launched by local record label Mine All Mine. Visit LostCityMusicFestival.com for details about the fest's concerts, seminars and film screenings. With Cribshitter, William Z. Villain and Pushmi-Pullyu.
Terrace at UW Memorial Union, 9:30 pm
It's festival season, which means that this local jamtronica band is in top form. They'll share songs that have entranced crowds at events such as Summer Camp, Jammin' on the Wolf and Grateful Garcia Gathering.
Mickey's Tavern, 10:30 pm
Listen for hints of Can and Stereolab in the spacey, funk-laced grooves of this Chicago psych-rock band. They'll dig into their 2011 release, Neverendless. With Dead Luke and DJs Glass & Grass.
Saturday 7.7
NOTEWORTHY: Ronald Reagan appoints Sandra Day O'Connor to be first female Supreme Court justice, 1981.
Flowers by Livija and Lon Michels: Entrances
Overture Center's James Watrous Gallery, through Aug. 19
The Watrous presents side-by-side solo exhibitions. Presented by Milwaukee photographer James Brozek and the Portrait Society Gallery, Flowers by Livija gathers haunting 1950s and 1960s photographs taken by Milwaukee's Livija Patikne. Lodi-based painter Lon Michaels' large-scale portraits and landscapes are vivid and colorful.
Concerts in the UW Humanities Building's Mills Hall, 7:30 pm; through July 14
This year's confab of medieval, Renaissance and Baroque music is called "Welcome Home Again! An American Celebration" and features North American music from the 1600s up to the Civil War. There's an array of classes, lectures and concerts. This week's performers include Anonymous 4 (Saturday); Chatham Baroque with Chris Norman (Sunday); and the Rose Ensemble (Tuesday).
Terrace at UW Memorial Union, 9:30 pm
The Breeders' Kelley Deal and Ampline's Mike Montgomery have joined forces to create mesmerizing chaos with guitars, keyboards and lilting vocals. Get a taste of their new sound before their first 7-inch drops.
High Noon Saloon, 9:30 pm
As Youth Lagoon, Trevor Powers cloaks his fears and aspirations in luscious lo-fi pop that ranges from noisy to trippy to utterly ethereal. Find out what he's been up to since releasing The Year of Hibernation, his 2011 debut.
Harmony Bar, 9:45 Lend some hand claps and foot stomps to a live audio and video recording by this local ensemble, which blends blues, jazz, funk and klezmer with remarkable aplomb.
Sunday 7.8
NOTEWORTHY: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on shuttle program's final mission, 2011.
Nicolay with the Hot at Nights
Frequency, 8 pm Nicolay, the DJ and producer in rap-and-R&B duo the Foreign Exchange, will team up with the experimental jazz trio the Hot at Nights to perform eight instrumental compositions from his 2009 solo album, City Lights Vol. 2: Shibuya.
