University of Wisconsin-Madison
Arts Night Out
Friday 10.12
Wisconsin Book Festival
Through Oct. 14, various venues
The annual event is packed with readings, lectures, discussions, workshops and children's events. See wisconsinbookfestival.org and Isthmus' coverage at TheDailyPage.com to map out your itinerary.
Madison Bach Musicians
St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 8 pm. Also Sunday, Oct. 14, 3 pm
The ambitious local ensemble returns with masterworks by J.S. Bach, including cantatas 79 and 150 and the irresistible Brandenburg Concerto No. 4.
Paolo Nutini
Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm
A major heartthrob in the U.K., the supernally smooth singer-songwriter ("Jenny Don't Be Hasty") gains new fans whenever he opens his mouth. Jon McLaughlin and Serena Ryder open.
Brenda Weiler
Cafe Montmartre, 8 pm
"Haunting" doesn't begin to describe Weiler's first album in years, End the Rain. It's a response to an older sister's suicide and as hair-raising as contemporary folk gets.
Iguanas
Harmony Bar, 9:45 pm The Iguanas travel up from the Crescent City to fill your plate with a little Tex-Mex and New Orleans-inspired roots rock.
Isthmus' Madison Music Project
High Noon Saloon, 10 pm
Fun-loving '70s arena-rock devotees The Motorz join The Box Social and The Grizzlies for a guitar-friendly iteration of Isthmus' local-music summit. At 7 pm, the Lucas Cates Band also kicks off a night of Madison Music Project events at the Brink Lounge.
Saturday 10.13
Sheri Sinykin
Barnes & Noble West, 9:30 am
The local children's author reads from Giving Up the Ghost, her novel about a Wisconsin girl who encounters a spirit (and her own fears) in a Louisiana mansion.
Duck Soup Cinema
Overture Center's Capitol Theater, 2 & 7 pm
Overture's family-friendly series brings back old-time vaudeville era with a lively variety show featuring magic, juggling and singing, followed by Buster Keaton shorts accompanied live on organ.
Anne of Green Gables
Mitby Theatre at MATC-Truax, 2 pm
The touring TheatreWorks USA presents a musical adaptation of the classic children's novel about a girl adopted into a farm family. It's geared for kids in grades 3 through 7.
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art
Karl Wirsum talk: 7 pm. Kids' Art Adventures with Wirsum: Sunday, Oct. 14, 1 pm
Two new exhibitions explore the vibrant Chicago Imagist movement that began in the late '60s. "Karl Wirsum: Winsome Works(some)" features Wirsum's fantastical paintings. "Hairy Who and Some Others" offers works by Wirsum's contemporaries in the influential Hairy Who group.
Arts Night Out!
UW campus, 11 am-midnight
The UW-Madison showcases its contribution to the local arts scene, packing an extraordinary number of free events into a single day. Highlights include a reception at the Chazen Museum of Art (6 pm); the First Wave Multicultural Arts Ensemble, featuring students living in the new First Wave Spoken Word and Urban Arts Learning Community (Lathrop Hall, 7 pm); "Passin' the Mic," with international spoken-word stars (Wisconsin Union Theater, 8 pm); David Mamet's play The Water Engine, presented by University Theatre (Hemsley Theatre in Vilas Hall, 8 pm); and Katrin Talbot and Mark Hetzler's Dynamic Elements, a multimedia concert blending live music, visual images and processed sounds (Mills Hall in the Humanities Bldg., 8 pm). See arts.wisc.edu for a complete schedule.
Amber Pacific
Loft in the Lussier Teen Center, 7 pm
Peppy, slickly produced pop-punk has captivated a big chunk of suburbia, and Amber Pacific have the hormone-drenched formula down cold.
Dance Wisconsin
Mitby Theater at MATC-Truax, 7:30 pm
Jo Jean Retrum leads her polished young troupe in the annual "New Works" concert, featuring choreography by Retrum and others. The concert's subtitle -- "Dance Rocks" -- should prepare you for the energy level.
Momix
Overture Center's Overture Hall, 8 pm
The troupe's brand of dance theater fantasy is fun and fabulously inventive. A free Meet the Artist discussion follows the show.
Johnette Napolitano
Majestic Theatre, 8 pm
With Concrete Blonde, raw-voiced Napolitano pumped some palpable desperation into the alt-rock world. Her solo work maintains that edge.
Muriel Anderson's All Star Guitar Night
Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm
Some seriously talented guitar jockeys get together with finger-picking champ Anderson to raise money for programs that bring music education to kids. Monte Montgomery, Willy Porter, Tony McManus, Thom Bresh and McKenzie's Mill are slated to appear.
The Broken West
Annex, 9:30 pm
On disc, the L.A.-based up-and-comers bounce confidently between the sounds of the British Invasion and the jingle-jangle of their home base's initial psychedelic scene. The Deadstring Brothers open.
Stephen Kellogg & the Sixers
High Noon Saloon, 9:30 pm
Regular-guy rocker Kellogg ambles through his alt-country-leaning output with just enough passion to let you know that he means to be taken as a serious troubadour.
Westside Andy & Mel Ford Band
Harmony Bar, 9:45 pm
The engaging blues vets muscle their way through the barroom on Alley Cat, the new CD they're celebrating here.
Sunday 10.14
Fats Lives!
Coliseum Bar, 2 pm
A quintet made up of East Coast jazz musicians, including vocalist Terry Blaine and clarinetist Allan Vache, have fun with the ebullient songs of Fats Waller.
Toots & the Maytals
Barrymore Theatre, 7:30 pm
Reggae's closest link with American soul music, Jamaican legend Toots Hibbert remains a force of nature.
Assemblage 23
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
Nearly 20 years on, Assemblage 23 keeps rousing dance floors with electronic music that strikes a delicate balance between murky goth and overproduced synth-pop.
