Monday 7.23
Third Eye Blind
Barrymore Theatre, 7:30 pm
The Bay Area band were million-sellers a decade ago thanks to their hooky alt-rock fare. They're previewing new material that takes on the Bushies and right-of-center culture. The Upwelling opens.
Mr. Gnome
Annex, 9:30 pm
Cleveland's critically approved two-piece float and flutter over oddball, at times aggressive grooves that take trip-hop deep into the contemporary moment. Panacea and Sounds of Reason open.
Tuesday 7.24
Steel Pulse
Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm
At this point, the long-lived Steel Pulse are the closest you'll get to U.K. reggae royalty. They continue to use their throbbing bottom end and pop-brushed vocals to raise the alarm about the planet's pressing ecological and social crises. Supa Ranks & His Rock Stone High Power open.
Wednesday 7.25
Concerts on the Square
Capitol Square, 7 pm
In this week's pops concert, the Wisconsin Chamber Orchestra whips up a frenzy with Rossini's overture from William Tell, then calms things down with Beethoven's serene "Pastorale" symphony. The guest soloist is oboist Naomi Bensdorf.
Neil Hamburger
High Noon Saloon, 7:30 pm
Hamburger, the alter ego of comedian Gregg Turkington, is the world's worst comedian, with terrible timing and even worse punchlines. So why are we laughing so hard?
Reverence 2007
Inferno, 9 pm. Also Thursday, July 26, 9 pm; through July 28
The alternative electronic music festival features both local and touring EBM, synth-pop, old-school industrial and darkwave acts. On Wednesday, cuddly creeps the Gothsicles carry the banner for Madison music along with the Dark Clan, Beta Virus and DJ Opstorm. On Thursday it's Sensuous Enemy, Stochastic Theory, MindFluxFuneral and DJ Deftly D.
Thursday 7.26
David Ellis
Booked for Murder, 6 pm
The Edgar-winning thriller writer reads from Eye of the Beholder, in which a prosecutor is plagued by a serial killer from his past.
Donald Johnson
University Book Store-Hilldale, 7 pm
Johnson, president of the Wisconsin Center for the Book, will show off his coffee-table book Historic Photos of Madison. It features nearly 200 archival black-and-white images from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s, many of them never before published.
Matthew Rothschild
Overture Center's Wisconsin Studio, 7 pm
The editor of The Progressive Magazine discusses his book You Have No Rights: Stories of America in an Age of Repression, which shows how Americans' civil liberties have been squashed since Sept. 11. Yes, folks, an anti-Bush bumper sticker might just earn you a visit from the FBI.
Matt White
Cafe Montmartre, 9 pm
The UW alum scored a major-label contract with his emotive, easygoing love songs and reflections on growing into adulthood. He was also picked by Rolling Stone as an "Artist to Watch." So watch! Mike Droho opens.
Dead or Alive and Paradise City
Club Tavern, 9 pm
These Bon Jovi and Guns N' Roses tribute acts should be worth a pitcher or two of guilty pleasure.
The Grizzlies
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
The garage-rooted pop-rockers embrace the DIY spirit with the ferocity of their furry namesake. They celebrate a new CD with help from Shazy Hade (who also have a new disc out) and Beach Patrol.
