Yikes! It's that weird weekend of the year when the Halloween and Yule seasons overlap, a transitional time for tasty sweets that will be serving up the Night of the Dead concert and Madison Horror Film Festival alongside the Madison Holiday Market and Pie Palooza. The calendar also includes: a production by Kanopy Dance; performances by the MSO and Festival Choir of Madison; the Jazz Junction party; and, more live music from Count This Penny, Graham Colton, Grupo Fantasma, The Wood Brothers, The Daredevil Christopher Wright, John McCutcheon, Jorma Kaukonen, G. Love & Special Sauce, Sims, Milo Greene, Luke Polipnick and Friends, and David Wax Museum.
Friday 11.2
NOTEWORTHY: Russia declares war on Ottoman Empire, 1914.
Alliant Energy Center Exhibition Hall, 1-8 pm. Also Saturday (10 am-5 pm) & Sunday (10 am-4 pm), Nov. 3 & 4
Yes, we know you've been busy, what with the elections and all, but what about your holiday shopping? Worry not -- you'll find something for everyone at this gifting extravaganza, from chocolates to jewelry to clothing, even fishing lures. Ho. Ho.
Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 pm
Don't expect to hear opera at the Opera House on Friday. This local group's set will most likely revolve around Pitchman, a new album of gorgeous Americana tunes. With Whitney Mann.
Overture Hall, 7:30 pm. Also Saturday (8 pm) & Sunday (2:30 pm), Nov. 3 & 4
Tuneful twins Christina and Michelle Naughton will show off their skills -- and their Madison pride -- during a performance of Poulenc's Concerto for Two Pianos. The orchestra will also present Kodály's rhythmic Dances of Galánta and one of Schubert's most expressive works, The Great C Major Symphony.
Promenade Hall in the Overture Center, 7:30 pm. Also Saturday (7 & 9 pm) & Sunday (2:30 pm), Nov. 3 & 4
Kanopy presents the chillingly titled "End Times: Choreography of the Apocalypse." The program includes Robert E. Cleary's "End Times...Ebullient Machine," based on poetry about -- what else? -- the end of the world, and Lisa Thurrell's "Cassandra's Cry" and "Prayer," set to Arvo Pärt's music.
Redamte Coffee House, 8 pm
This singer-songwriter's tunes have been featured on numerous TV shows, but his proudest accomplishment may be the cover of Sparklehorse's "Don't Take My Sunshine Away" he recorded with Flaming Lips frontman Wayne Coyne. With Jay Nash.
UW Union South Sett, 8 pm
In from Austin, Texas, this 11-piece Latin funk orchestra will highlight horn-fueled tunes from their Grammy-winning 2008 album Sonidos Gold and Showtime's dark, alluring dramedy Weeds.
Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm
Celebrate Mexico's Day of the Dead with sonic treats from local tribute acts. The Mustache will channel the funk vibes of Parliament-Funkadelic, People Brothers Band will light many a fire with Doors covers, and the Grasshoppers will honor the late, great Jimi Hendrix.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
Add half of King Johnson to one-third of Medeski, Martin & Wood, and you get this duo of siblings who infuse alt-folk with blues and rock. With Lera Lynn.
The Daredevil Christopher Wright
UW Memorial Union Rathskeller, 9:30 pm
These folksters may be from tiny Eau Claire, but they've been cultivating a national reputation for more than three years. "A Man of the Arts," a moody new tune from a split recording with New York's Cuddle Magic (also on the bill), premiered on NPR's "All Songs Considered" two weeks ago.
Saturday 11.3
NOTEWORTHY: U.S. introduces income tax, 1913.
Market Square Cinema, 11 am. Also Sunday, Nov. 4, 11 am
A weekend's worth of bone-chilling cinema doubles as a fundraiser for the Dane County Humane Society, with such titles as Incest Death Squad Rising and Dead Weight. Stars of the horror genre will host question-and-answer sessions and other events.
Full Compass, 2 pm
A slew of Madison musicians, including Hanah Jon Taylor, Harmonious Wail, Dave Stoler, Rick Flowers, Cliff Frederiksen and the Tony Castañeda Latin Jazz Sextet, perform at this launch party for the Greater Madison Jazz Consortium. The organization is designed to create more performance opportunities for area musicians and more learning opportunities for jazz-curious locals.
Barrymore Theatre, 7 pm
Though he's no slouch at the fiddle and banjo, this folk artist's specialty is the hammered dulcimer. Though he has 34 albums to choose from, McCutcheon will most likely play "Christmas in the Trenches," whose tale of wartime truce should be required listening during election season.
First Baptist Church, 7:30 pm Ponder rituals and rebellion during "The Un-Ordinary Mass," a concert that includes Gabriel Fauré's Messe Basse, Leonard Bernstein's "MASS" and Carol Barnett's "A Bluegrass Mass."
Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 pm
A founding member of Jefferson Airplane, this guitarist helped weave psychedelic rock into America's cultural fabric in the 1960s. Though he'll probably focus on his solo work, he may pull a "White Rabbit" out of his hat.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
Though this group's popularity peaked around 1994, their sloppy stew of blues, R&B and hip-hop is still deliciously distinctive. With Giant Panda Guerrilla Dub Squad.
UW Union South Sett, 9 pm
This rapper from Minneapolis' Doomtree collective explores themes such as disappointment and disillusionment through infectious beats and rhymes, drawing influence from hip-hop legends the Wu-Tang Clan and filmmaker David Lynch.
High Noon Saloon, 9:30 pm
This plucky folk-rock act isn't one person but five multi-instrumentalists. Watch them trade vocal duties on songs from their self-titled debut, whose cheerleaders include the tastemakers at Consequence of Sound and Orlando Magic dreamboat J.J. Redick. With Bahamas.
Sunday 11.4
Goodman Community Center, 9:30 am-1:30 pm, hourly seatings
Eat good food while doing good at this celebration of all things pie. You'll enjoy sweet and savory pies prepared by local chefs and bakers, with proceeds going to REAP Food Group.
Brink Lounge, 3:30 pm
Bassist Adam Linz, sax man Brandon Wozniak and drummer Mike Bride will join guitarist, composer and former Madison resident Luke Polipnick for an afternoon of jazz and improvisational music. A master genre-bender, Polipnick nestles hints of folk and post-rock in many of his original compositions.
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
This duo fuses American and Mexican folk music in ways that have impressed the critics at Time and The New York Times. With Blessed Feathers.
