Madison will be treated to a brief summer reprise this weekend, amidst the World Dairy Expo, Madison Horror Film Festival, International Kite Fly For Peace, and and Great Fire Truck Parade. The calendar also includes: the Quivey's Grove Beer Fest; stand-up by Steven Wright and Lewis Black; the Dance Wisconsin season opener; performances by the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra, Madison Bach Musicians, and Pro Arte Quartet; and, more live music from Pet Lions, Sweet Honey in the Rock, Pogo, Tony Furtado, William Elliott Whitmore, BoDeans, Chris Robinson Brotherhood, Moonface, Todd Clouser's A Love Electric, and Man or Astro-Man?.
Friday 10.7
NOTEWORTHY: U.S. invades Afghanistan, 2001.
Alliant Energy Center, 9 am-5 pm. Also Sunday, Oct. 8, 9 am-5 pm
Tens of thousands of ranchers, farmers and vendors congregate for a forum centered on the secretion that made Wisconsin famous. Get close to the milk with seminars, exhibits, virtual farm tours and more.
Pet Lions, In Tall Buildings, Netherfriends
UW Union South Sett, 5 pm
Wisconsin Union Directorate will showcase some of the Windy City's hottest new bands, including punchy popsters Pet Lions, folky chamber-pop charmer In Tall Buildings and psychedelic troubadour Netherfriends. With Cains & Abels and Distractions.
Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 pm
The sleepy-eyed, wild-haired comedian made his name in the 1980s with disjointed observations like this one, which made us laugh when we heard it on Carson: "George is a radio announcer, and when he walks under a bridge, you can't hear him talk." (See Comedy.)
Wisconsin Union Theater, 8 pm
This Grammy-winning a cappella six-piece explores the trials and tribulations of African American women through hard-hitting lyrics and stunning multi-part harmonies. A sign-language interpreter will translate for the hearing impaired and add an extra visual layer to the performance.
Overture Center's Capitol Theater, 8 pm
Pianist Ilya Yakushev joins the Chamber Orchestra for its season opener, featuring music written by famous composers when they were very young: Elgar, Prokofiev, Copland and Gershwin (see Music).
High Noon Saloon, 9:30 pm
This electronic musician makes new songs out of old film soundtracks and some not-so-old melodies from movies such as Toy Story and the Harry Potter series. With That 1 Guy.
Saturday 10.8
NOTEWORTHY: Poland bans Solidarity, 1982.
Market Square Cinema, 11 am-midnight
If you're worried you won't get your fill of shock and gore at the megaplexes this October, this fest is here to help. The all-day event boasts screenings of creepy shorts and features, plus talks by filmmakers including Madison's own Cory Udler, of Incest Death Squad fame.
Quivey's Grove, noon-5 pm
The Westside Andy/Mel Ford Band provide the bluesy soundtrack for a sampling of 60-plus beverages from area breweries.
Frequency, 7 pm
Furtado has won the National Banjo Competition twice, pairing his skillful picking with a voice Paste describes as "reminiscent of T-Bone Burnett, sans preachiness." His newest album, Golden, melds progressive bluegrass and straight-ahead pop with indie rock and traditional Celtic music.
Madison College-Truax's Mitby Theater, 7:30 pm
The troupe kicks off its season with "Dance for Life." Artistic director JoJean Retrum choreographs, as do Milwaukee Ballet's Justin Genna, Chelsey Dahm, Ashley Dahm and a host of others.
Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 pm
The Iowa-born musician build bridges between punks and folkies with his raw country blues and distinctive voice, which recalls both Tom Waits and Captain Beefheart.
Overture Hall, 8 pm
The acerbic comedian is always on the verge of fury, and a blossoming political season only means he has lots to be mad about. His new album, The Prophet, was recorded 20 years ago, so if you've always wanted to hear Black rage about Dan Quayle, here's your chance (see Comedy.
Overture Center's Capitol Theater, 8 pm
The Wisconsin-bred group famous for rootsy alt-rock tunes like "She's a Runaway" and "Closer to Free" hits the Overture Center with a new release, Indigo Dreams. The group is performing without founding member Sam Llanas, who departed in August. So this will be different.
Trinity Lutheran Church, 8 pm. Also First Unitarian Society Auditorium, Sunday, Oct. 9, 3:30 pm
The local group presents a concert called "Music of the Bach Family." So there are works by by Johann Sebastian, as you'd expect, and by Johann Christoph, Wilhelm Friedemann and Carl Philipp Emmanuel. P.D.Q. Bach is not mentioned in the press release, but we can hope.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
Readers of a certain age will recall when Robinson sang emphatic Southern rock with the Black Crowes. The band is on hiatus, but Robinson soldiers on with his own project. The watchword still is emphatic Southern rock.
UW Union South Sett, 9 pm
Wolf Parade's Spencer Krug will visit Madison as a solo act, performing indie-rock gems from Organ Music Not Vibraphone Like I'd Hoped, his debut LP under the Moonface moniker.
Todd Clouser's A Love Electric
Frequency, 10 pm
Fronted by talented young jazz guitarist Clouser, this band recently won Ropeadope Records' Emerging Artist Competition. With Carla Bozulich and Luke Polipnick.
Sunday 10.9
NOTEWORTHY: Washington monument opens, 1888.
International Kite Fly For Peace
McKee Farms Park, Fitchburg, 11 am-4 pm
Inspired by the Gorbachev thaw, this global event has, since 1986, promoted peaceful ideals through the flying of kites. Kids can check out the spectacular sport kites, then make their own delicate flying thing.
Chazen Museum of Art, 12:30 pm
With pianist Eugene Alcalay, the Pro Arte Quartet, a Madison institution, plays Shostakovich and Brahms on the radio. There's much more excitement to come for the group, which celebrates its centennial this season (see Music).
Up State Street to Capitol, 1 pm
Kids love fire trucks, so they'll relish this opportunity to gawk at dozens of the area's finest as they process majestically. The Dane County Fire Chiefs Association hosts.
Majestic Theatre, 8 pm
In addition to teaming surf rock and space rock with the sounds of out-there electronic gadgets such as tesla coils, this punkish band of sci-fi geeks has composed numerous tunes for Cartoon Network shows, including Space Ghost Coast to Coast and The Adventures of Jimmy Neutron.