Shen Yun
Madison slows down this week for spring break, but the city's stages still offer plenty of opportunities for listening and learning. The calendar includes: talks by Richard Davidson, Barbara Verkuilen, and Mark Brennan Rosenberg; a performance by Shen Yun; and, live music from Reptar, Bahamas, Ben Cosgrove, Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps, Elephant Revival, and Lucero.
Monday 4.2
NOTEWORTHY: As the World Turns premieres on CBS, 1956.
Tuesday 4.3
NOTEWORTHY: President Harry S. Truman signs Marshall Plan, 1948.
UW Union South, 7 pm
At this Academy Evenings event, the UW psychology and psychiatry professor discusses The Emotional Life of Your Brain, the new book he wrote with journalist Sharon Begley. It describes various emotional "styles" that define your personality and suggests ways to change them, if you wanna.
Wednesday 4.4
NOTEWORTHY: Martin Luther King Jr. slain, 1968.
A Room of One's Own, 6:30 pm
Local author Verkuilen discusses her new book, The Tale of Zen Master Bho Li, about an orphan who becomes a Zen master. With her husband, Verkuilen founded Madison's Midwest Soto Zen Community.
OutReach-Gateway Mall, 7 pm
New York-based author Rosenberg talks about Blackouts & Breakdowns, his collection of essays about being young, gay and chemically dependent -- and then sober.
Overture Hall, 7 pm
The WI Falun Dafa Association presents this colorful touring spectacle of dance and music, whose organizers seek to "restore 5,000 years of divinely inspired Chinese culture, which has sadly been decimated by decades of communist rule." Or so the ads say.
High Noon Saloon, 8:30 pm
Synths, samples and reggae-tinged vocals are just a few of the ingredients this indie pop band uses to lure fans and furrow brows. Reptar will likely perform tunes from their debut EP, Oblangle Fizz Y'all, which earned a thumbs-up from Rolling Stone, and their first full-length, Body Faucet, which drops this May. With Quiet Hooves and Canopies.
Frequency, 9 pm
Former Feist pianist Afie Juravanen, a.k.a. Bahamas, crafts dreamy pop that teems with hints of soul and folk and lyrics that range from impressionistic to conversational. Hit this show to discover why his new album, Barchords, has earned kudos from The New Yorker, Spin and Entertainment Weekly. With Dietrich Gosser.
Thursday 4.5
NOTEWORTHY: George Washington executes first presidential veto, 1792.
Indie Coffee, 7 pm
Though he's in his early 20s, this Boston-dwelling film-score composer and multi-instrumentalist has released eight albums of original material, including Yankee Division, the highlight of this show.
Caroline Smith & the Good Night Sleeps
Frequency, 8 pm
Fronted by an alto-voiced songbird who draws inspiration from Billie Holiday and Joanna Newsom, this self-described post-folk band can pack the Frequency, even when UW-Madison is on spring break.
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
This Colorado quintet makes its first Madison appearance. Expect to hear a folk-laced sound that incorporates banjos, djembes, musical saws and the occasional hip-hop beat. With Honey and Summer & Fall.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
Though they sport tattoos and tough-guy grimaces, these six musicians are all about sing-alongs, which they amp up with alt-country twang and punk-style fist pumping. With William Elliott Whitmore.
