April winds down this week as the spring arts season enters its final stage. The calendar includes: performances of Dralion by Cirque du Soleil; the After Chernobyl photo exhibit by Michael Forster Rothbart; talks by Amy Stewart with Briony Morrow-Cribbs, Jonathan Gold, and Michael Perry; and, live music from Shpongle, El Ten Eleven, The Hussy, and G. Love & Special Sauce.
Monday 4.25
ANZAC DAY
NOTEWORTHY: St. Lawrence Seaway opens to shipping, 1959.
BIRTHDAYS: Oscar- & Tony-winning actor Al Pacino, 1940; actress Renee Zellweger, 1969.
Tuesday 4.26
NOTEWORTHY: German planes bomb & strafe Guernica, 1937.
BIRTHDAYS: Actress Joan Chen, 1961.
After Chernobyl
Central Library, through April 30
Today is the 25th anniversary of the devastating nuclear accident at Chernobyl, Ukraine. Observe the solemn occasion by taking in this collection of photographs by photojournalist Michael Forster Rothbart, who documents the lives of people living near the plant. A reception is from 6 to 8 p.m.
Cirque du Soleil
Alliant Energy Center's Coliseum, 7:30 pm. Also Wednesday, April 27, 7:30 pm
The masters of psychedelic spectacle come to town with one of their dreamlike, acrobatic, modern-circus shows. This road show is Dralion, which draws influences from Chinese acrobatics and, unlike one Cirque show, is not set to Elvis music.
Shpongle
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
This ambient psych-trance project from the U.K. mixes mind-bending synth melodies with sounds from the Far East and manages to add flutes without sounding like Jethro Tull. Enjoy one of their illustrious DJ sets at this show. With Random Rab.
Wednesday 4.27
NOTEWORTHY: Barbara Bach marries Caveman castmate Ringo Starr, 1981.
BIRTHDAY: B-52s singer/organist Kate Pierson, 1948.
Amy Stewart, Briony Morrow-Cribbs
Overture Center's Wisconsin Studio, 6 pm
With illustrator Morrow-Cribbs, Stewart discusses her latest book, Wicked Bugs: The Louse that Conquered Napoleon's Army and Other Diabolical Insects. Stewart, who also wrote Wicked Plants, has amassed much delightfully gross material, including info about the fly that will lay eggs in your eyes if you're not careful.
Thursday 4.28
FULL MOON
SECRETARIES DAY
NOTEWORTHY: Thor Heyerdahl sets sail on Kon Tiki, 1947. BIRTHDAYS: Youthful sonic rocker Kim Gordon, 1953; actress Penelope Cruz, 1974.
Jonathan Gold
Chazen Museum of Art, 7:30 pm
LA Weekly restaurant critic Gold, the only food writer to have notched a Pulitzer for criticism, discusses "Authenticity, Culture and the Korean Taco" at this UW Center for the Humanities event (see Food).
Michael Perry
Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 pm
The humorist, rural Wisconsinite and memoirist (Coop, Population: 485) tells stories from his experiences as a writer, a volunteer fireman, and so on.
El Ten Eleven
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
This L.A. post-rock pair rocks a guitar-bass doubleneck and a snazzy collection of effects pedals, making soundtracks for films such as Helvetica and Objectified as well as their own LPs, including 2010's It's Still Like a Secret. With Lynx and Gobble Gobble.
Frequency, 9 pm
Over the past three years, the spastic garage-rock duo has released a smattering of EPs and rocked clubs from here to California, but they haven't released a full-length album-until now. Welcome their fierce debut LP,
G. Love & Special Sauce
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
Get a taste of G. Love's new solo album, Fixin' to Die, a homage to the blues that features the Avett Brothers. His band, Special Sauce, will also be on hand to perform "Cold Beverage" and other '90s classics. With the Belle Brigade.
