Fall may be reaching a colder stage, but the arts scene remains hot this weekend. The calendar includes: the Madison Food & Wine Show and the Sustainable Homes Showcase; productions of Valparaiso and Spring Awakening; Hope & Empowerment and Folk Off Cancer benefits; performances by The Jerusalem String Quartet, the Festival Choir of Madison, and Mike Reed's People, Places & Things; standup by Joan Rivers; Opera Up Close; live music by Leo Kottke and Leon Redbone, k-os, Dark Star Orchestra, Ingrid Michaelson, Caustic with Sensuous Enemy, Vermillion with United in Blood, and Phantogram; and, Halloween at the Zoo.
Friday 10.22
FULL MOON
BIRTHDAYS: French actress Catherine Deneuve, 1943.
Alliant Center's Exhibition Hall, 5-9 pm. Also Saturday (noon-7 pm) & Sunday (noon-4 pm), Oct. 23 & 24
Madison Magazine hosts this gustatory extravaganza, which features exhibitors, tastings and the Dueling Chefs competition between local restaurant gurus.
Door Creek Church, 6602 Dominion Dr., 7 pm
Headlining this benefit for the South African community organization Zimele is Harold Rayford, an accomplished saxophonist in the gospel jazz genre and pastor at Sun Prairie Faith Hope and Love Worship Center. With ANT, Lena Saffold and Mount Zion Worship Ensemble.
Wisconsin Union Theater, 7:30 pm
The members of the Israeli foursome were just kids when they started the ensemble in 1993, and since then they've become acclaimed globetrotters. Tonight they perform Haydn's Quartet in F-Minor, Op. 20, No. 5; Debussy's String Quartet; and Brahms' Quartet in C-Minor, Op. 51, No. 1.
UW Vilas Hall's Mitchell Theatre, 7:30 pm. Also Saturday, Oct. 23, 7:30 pm
Don DeLillo is best known as a zeitgeisty literary novelist, but he also has several plays under his belt, including this one about a businessman who sets out for Valparaiso, Ind., winds up in Valparaiso, Chile, and inexplicably finds himself the object of excessive media attention. University Theatre stages the 1999 satire.
Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm
Innovative guitarist Kottke has popularized an aggressive style of finger-picking, and he draws on Delta blues, jazz and vintage Americana in his songwriting. Redbone, meanwhile, mines the country, blues and Tin Pan Alley songbooks in his often deliriously loony performances. (Does he accommodate requests for the Mr. Belvedere theme song?)
High Noon Saloon, 10 pm
Two celebrated Canadian hip-hop artists join Seattle sensation Astronautalis to create the perfect Friday night for those who love words, rhymes, funky beats and messages about improving both self and society. (See interview with k-os.)
Saturday 10.23
NOTEWORTHY: President Nixon agrees to turn over White House tapes to Judge John Sirica, 1973.
10 am-4 pm
Throughout Madison and in the suburbs, visit homes that incorporate the latest in green design concepts, from alternative energy to renewable materials. After the tour, enjoy music by Moldy Jam at Habitat ReStore. For details, visit Spring Awakening
Wisconsin Union Theater, 7 pm & midnight. Also Sunday, Oct. 24, 7 pm
With songs by Duncan Sheik and eight Tony awards to its name, Spring Awakening was the toast of Broadway a few years back. An adaptation of an 1891 German play, the rock musical is about teenagers and their erotic preoccupations.
Asbury United Methodist Church, 7:30 pm
The members of the choral group blend their voices in a program called "Baroque-O-Rama." On the docket is music of Monteverdi, Bach and Handel.
Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm
No one compares to the Grateful Dead, but if anyone comes close, it's the Dark Star Orchestra, one of the most famous Dead tribute bands in America. They don't just play songs by Jerry Garcia and the gang; they re-create entire shows from the past.
Overture Center's Capitol Theater, 8 pm
Though the poppy singer-songwriter doesn't have a new album to push, she might perform "Parachute," the song she wrote for British pop singer Cheryl Cole, which has been tearing up the European charts for the past few months. With the Guggenheim Grotto.
Overture Hall, 8 pm
The famously abrasive comedian and TV personality is on a roll of late, thanks to the documentary Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work. (See interview.)
Inferno, 9 pm
Madison electronic doyen Caustic started filming a live DVD at Montreal's Kinetik Festival, and he's decided to finish it up at his hometown stomping grounds. Meanwhile, local darkwave darlings Sensuous Enemy will release their new EP, Parity. With the Light Asylum and DJ Whiterabbit.
Willy Street Pub & Grill, 9 pm
Vermillion and United in Blood will help showcase what the Wisco does best: metal shows with lots of booze, burgers and a northwoods-cabin-meets-beer-stained-basement vibe.
High Noon Saloon, 9:30 pm
Keyboardist Sarah Barthels describes her band as a combination of Serge Gainsbourg, sampling and Detroit hip-hop, but others may say it's a more rockin' version of trip-hop. No matter what you call it, this music will get you dancing, whether you're a fan of Yeasayer and Brazilian Girls or good old-fashioned club beats. With Josiah Wolf.
Sunday 10.24
BIRTHDAYS: Oscar-winning actor Kevin Kline, 1947.
Vilas Zoo, 10 am-4 pm
Trick-or-treaters come in costume, making this the one day of the year when animals will stare at the people.
High Noon Saloon, 1 pm
Hit the High Noon for an afternoon of folk rock and Irish drinking tunes courtesy of the New Mountain Kickers and the Kissers, and help out the International Myeloma Foundation Benefit in the process. With the Resinators.
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 1 pm
In a multimedia presentation, Madison Opera general director Allan Naplan previews the company's production of Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, which is being staged in Overture Hall Nov. 5 and 7.
Mike Reed's People, Places & Things
UW Memorial Union's Fredric March Play Circle, 7:30 pm
With his quartet, acclaimed Chicago jazz drummer Reed pays tribute to the Windy City's hard bop scene of the 1950s and 1960s.