Shemekia Copeland
Sustenance for both appetite and mind are on the menu this week, starting with The Big Eat and continuing with talks by Cornelia Flora, UW English lit profs, Christian Lander with Elon James White, Deborah Blum, and Natalie Zemon Davis. The calendar also includes live music by Rickie Lee Jones, Alec Ounsworth, Xiayin Wang, Shemekia Copeland, and Family Groove Company.
Monday 2.22
NOTEWORTHY: Courtney Love marries Kurt Cobain, 1992.
BIRTHDAYS: Child star-turned-fun-loving actress & director Drew Barrymore, 1975.
Monona Terrace, 5:30 pm
Isthmus' benefit for Family Centers features tasty morsels from 20 local food purveyors, plus music of Tony Castañeda Latin Jazz Sextet and a ballroom dancing competition. Rarely has stuffing your face been such a boon to the community.
UW Memorial Union, 7:30 pm
The Iowa State University sociologist specializes in rural development, and in tonight's Distinguished Lecture Series offering she speaks on "Entrepreneurial Social Infrastructure: Linking Local to Global."
Tuesday 2.23
NOTEWORTHY: Marines raise U.S. flag at Iwo Jima, 1945.
BIRTHDAYS: Easy Rider/acting-dynasty black sheep Peter Fonda, 1939; actress Dakota Fanning, 1994.
The History of English Literature in Six Sonnets
Central Library, 6:30 pm
In this Year of the Humanities gathering, six UW English professors zoom in on everyone's favorite 14-line poetic form and trace a line from Shakespeare to Auden and beyond.
Barrymore Theatre, 7:30 pm
The singer-songwriter many know for her single "Chuck E.'s in Love" and her inspired interpretation of the campy jazz standard "Makin' Whoopee" visits Madison to share tunes from her 2009 release Balm in Gilead, as well as other highlights from her 35 years of performing.
Wednesday 2.24
NOTEWORTHY: Elton John knighted, 1998.
BIRTHDAYS: Apple Computer visionary Steve Jobs, 1955; singer-songwriter Michelle Shocked, 1962.
High Noon Saloon, 7 pm
The frontman of Clap Your Hands Say Yeah recently visited New Orleans to record a ghostly and gorgeous solo debut, Mo Beauty, which earned a thumbs-up from Spin, Paste and American Songwriter. With the Nod and Ezra Furman & the Harpoons.
Christian Lander, Elon James White
UW Memorial Union, 7:30 pm
Lander conceived the Stuff White People Like franchise, and White runs the This Week in Blackness website. This stop on their Post-Racial Comedy Tour is a Distinguished Lecture Series event.
Thursday 2.25
BIRTHDAYS: Filmmaker Neil Jordan, 1950; Hobbity actor Sean Astin, 1971.
Barnes & Noble West, 7 pm
The Pulitzer-winning UW journalism professor talks about her Jazz Age investigation The Poisoner's Handbook (see cover story).
Chazen Museum of Art, 7:30 pm
The University of Toronto history professor, who wrote The Return of Martin Guerre, discusses "Dealing with Strangeness: Language and Information Flow in Early Modern Worlds."
Overture Center's Playhouse, 7:30 pm
The young pianist, a native of China, has played Carnegie Hall and earned plaudits from The New York Times and The Washington Post, among others. Tonight she performs music of Liszt, Chopin, Scriabin, Mozart and Ravel.
Majestic Theatre, 8:30 pm
The vocal powerhouse gives her version of the blues an R&B twist, channeling Ma Rainey at one moment and Ruth Brown the next while building a style that's all her own. Her newest release, 2009's Never Going Back, also shows off her talents for soul, jazz, rock and even country. With Cash Box Kings.
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
The Chicago-based quartet's version of jam rock is more rooted in Medeski Martin & Wood than Phish, and it's got a bit of a James Brown vibe to it as well, a combination that's been winning them fans at festivals such as 10,000 Lakes and Wakarusa for quite a few years now. With the Hue.
