The Ice Machine & Swift
Welcome to 2012! Madison stages start the new year with an energetic slate of live music that includes the Bret Stubblefield Show, Camper Van Beethoven, Earl Foss & the Brown Derby, Boo Bradley, Derek Dunn, and The Ice Machine & Swift, and the Cyclo-cross National Championships open five days of races and celebrations.
Monday 1.2
NOTEWORTHY: President Nixon signs edict lowering national speed limit to 55 mph, 1974.
Frequency, 9:30 pm
When Clyde Stubblefield, James Brown's original funky drummer, retired from his weekly jam session in the spring, he passed the torch to his nephew, Bret, who mans the drum kit with poise and pizzazz. With Karri Daley & the Original Funky Mondays Band.
Tuesday 1.3
NOTEWORTHY: Aretha Franklin becomes first woman inducted into Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, 1987.
Wednesday 1.4
NOTEWORTHY: Pro wrestler Jesse "The Body" Ventura sworn in as Minnesota's 38th governor, 1999.
Cyclo-cross National Championships
Badger Prairie County Park, Verona, through Jan. 8
Off-road bicyclists compete for glory on a course that cmbines pavement and grass, bumps and hills. Warming huts will keep spectators cheerful, as will the polka music of the Squeezettes.
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
This five-piece of alt-rock goofballs haven't released a new LP since the 2004 concept album New Roman Times, but their live show is as rollicking as ever. Recent performances have revolved around the 1989 album Key Lime Pie, which spawned the hit "Pictures of Matchstick Men" and the hilarious "When I Win the Lottery" (see Tour Stop). With American Scarecrows.
Crystal Corner Bar, 9:30 pm
Inspired by George Jones, aged whiskey and good old-fashioned honky-tonk bars, this longstanding local band peppers each set with heartrending originals and covers of material by folks such as Buck Owens and Johnny Paycheck.
Alchemy Café, 10 pm
Scott "Boo" Kiker and the Reverend C. Scott Fry meld bluesy wails and jazzy croons with fingerstyle guitar riffs as they explore the soulful sounds of the Mississippi Delta, the ragtime-filled speakeasies of old Chicago and the Carolina Piedmont's legendary hootenannies.
Thursday 1.5
NOTEWORTHY: Madison's high temperature of minus 14 ties the 1912 city record for coldest January high, 1924.
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
The singing, strumming leader of the defunct .357 String Band swathes the Saloon in rip-roaring blues, earthy Americana rambles and deep, dark country ballads. With Nellie Wilson & the Hellbound Honeys and Josh Harty.
Frequency, 9 pm
Physically, this bass-rocking duo are based in Brooklyn, N.Y., but spiritually, they're located somewhere between Iggy Pop's Detroit garage and a comedy club in the outskirts of Berlin, Germany. With Dr. Dolphin.
