Oy & Joy to the World
Monday 12.24
Oy & Joy to the World
Imperial Garden-West, 5:30 & 7:30 pm. Also Wednesday & Thursday, Dec. 26 & 27, 5:30 & 7:30 pm
Local comedian Jodi Cohen reprises her one-woman tour de force, a dinner/theater experience for those with a hankering to go out when others are home gazing at the Christmas tree. Drawing on her improvisational skill, Cohen explores holiday family dynamics, gift exchanges and football. She plays a wide range of comic characters, including a Jewish grandmother, a pet psychic, a Wisconsin macaroni sculptor, a Bronx carpenter and a teen revolutionary.
Tuesday 12.25
Holiday Fantasy in Lights
Olin-Turville Park, dusk until dawn. Through Jan. 1
When you've opened all the presents and drunk all the eggnog, you can prolong the Christmas vibe by driving past the Olin-Turville's brilliantly lit-up seasonal sculptures, courtesy of the National Electrical Contractors Association and the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, Local 159.
Wednesday 12.26
Karl Wirsum: Winsome Work(some)/Hairy Who (and some others)
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, through Jan. 6
These exhibitions explore the vibrant Chicago Imagist movement that began in the late '60s. "Karl Wirsum: Winsome Works(some)" features Wirsum's fantastical paintings, influenced by shop signs, advertisements, elevated trains and other manifestations of exuberant city life. 'Hairy Who and Some Others" offers works by Wirsum's contemporaries in the influential Hairy Who group, including Ed Paschke and Robert Lostutter, whose dark energy forms a contrast to Wirsum's sprightly work.
Ida Wyman
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, through May 9
The Madison newcomer began her photojournalism career in the 1940s -- a rare career path for a woman at the time. "Individual Experience,' her first one-person museum exhibition, focuses on her freelance work for Life, The New York Times and other publications following World War II. The images offer an intimate look at city life in mid-century America.
Thursday 12.27
Charles Walker Band
Brink Lounge, 8 pm
Energetic sax player Walker wraps up a blues-heavy week with swinging takes on jump blues and R&B. The Milwaukee outfit's singer, Shanna Jackson, often powers through covers and originals in the manner of Shemekia Copeland.
Brainerd
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
Pulverizing beats and even bigger guitar riffs form a solid armature for Brainerd's rough-and-tumble disquisitions on the grimy side of life. But the metal-punkers really aren't as hard-hearted as they seem. The show's a benefit for a trio of folks who lost their home in a fire. Freighter, Dead End Rejects and Temple of the Jaguar are also on the bill.
