Monday 12.3
Otis Redding Tributes
Monona Terrace, 5:30 pm. Also Thursday, Dec. 6, Wisconsin Veterans Museum, 7 pm
Two free programs mark the 40th anniversary of rhythm 'n' blues great Otis Redding's plane crash in Lake Monona. On Monday, Monona Terrace features Mayor Cieslewicz, plane-crash survivor Ben Cauley, a collection Redding memorabilia and a screening of the Redding documentary Dreams to Remember. On Thursday, the Wisconsin Veterans Museum focuses on Redding's "(Sittin' on) the Dock of the Bay," particularly its appeal to Vietnam soldiers.
Nellie McKay
Majestic Theatre, 8 pm
The pop, jazz and lite reggae on the quirky, NPR-approved neo-cabaret singer's latest CD, Obligatory Villagers, strike a few blows against the empire. But mostly McKay's songs provide spunky glosses on the Great American Songbook.
Chaka Demus & Pliers
Brink Lounge, 8 pm
One of the most successful reggae acts of all time, gruff-voiced Chaka Demus and his crooning foil Pliers ("Murder She Wrote," "Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic") have conquered a global audience with their infectious dancehall. This should be one lively party.
Tuesday 12.4
Dickens in America
Overture Center Playhouse, 7:30 pm. Also Wednesday & Thursday, Dec. 5 & 6, 7:30 pm, through Dec. 9
Madison Repertory Theatre presents a six-day run of James DeVita's play, which puts Charles Dickens on a Madison stage during an 1867 tour. James Ridge plays the ailing novelist, who performs bits from A Christmas Carol, Oliver Twist and David Copperfield.
Lorie Line
Overture Hall, 7:30 pm
Minnesota's queen of the ivories provides the costumes, the sing-along snippets of Handel's "Messiah," the classic Christmas tunes, a full pop orchestra, and one S. Claus. You provide the good cheer.
Drowning Pool
Annex, 8 pm
When they're not decrying the hellishness of this mortal coil, the thrash-friendly metallurgists have been lobbying Congress to increase mental health support for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. Good for them. Adema and Rebels Without Applause open.
Wednesday 12.5
The Dangerous Book for Dogs
Borders Books West, 7 pm
Joe Garden, Janet Ginsburg, Chris Pauls and Scott Sherman discuss their satiric guide to dogs written from the canine P.O.V. Here's where to learn about the most flavorful styles of shoes to chew.
Egypt Central
Annex, 8:30 pm
The thoroughly professional hard rockers have already brought their punishing guitars and constantly climaxing choruses to Ozzfest and the "Family Values Tour." Could world (or at least Midwestern) domination be next? Machina, Neverset and Gingerjake open.
Thursday 12.6
Ruth Gruber
UW Pyle Center, 4 pm
The veteran journalist discusses her memoir Witness: One of the Great Correspondents of the 20th Century Tells Her Story. Among other things, Gruber observed prisoners in the Siberian gulag and escorted a thousand Holocaust survivors from Italy to America.
Jesse Lee Kercheval
6191 UW Helen C. White Hall, 7 pm
The UW creative writing professor reads from The Alice Stories, a set of linked tales focusing on a Wisconsin woman and her family. The book won the Prairie Schooner Book Prize in Fiction.
Jeremi Suri
Borders Books West, 7 pm
The UW history professor discusses his probing book Henry Kissinger and the American Century, which explores Kissinger's personal background and philosophy to illuminate his role in the Nixon White House.
Pro Arte Quartet
Mills Hall in the UW Humanities Bldg., 7:30 pm
The UW ensemble tackles quartets by Boccherini and Ravel, as well as Schubert's frightening "Death and the Maiden."
Youssou N'Dour
Wisconsin Union Theater, 8 pm
The Senegalese superstar is an originator of modern mbalax, an urban pop style spiked with jazz, funk and reggae.
Bettye LaVette
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
A classic soul diva who's finally getting her due, LaVette digs as deep as anyone possibly can on her new CD, Scene of the Crime. She toured with Otis Redding and James Brown, but her time is most definitely now.
Randy Rogers Band
Majestic Theatre, 8 pm
Especially on the up-tempo stompers, the trad-minded country up-and-comer sounds a lot like a Texas-bred Steve Earle. Rogers has received a small ocean of positive ink for last year's Just a Matter of Time.
