Kwame Bediako at the Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival
Here is this week's critics' choice calendar. World Dairy Expo
Alliant Energy Center, 9 am-5 pm. Through Oct. 5
The theme for this year's celebration of all things bovine is "Center of the Dairy Universe." There'll be cattle judging, skills competitions, food and the Purple Cow Gift Shop. (See Food News.)
UW Gordon Dining & Event Center, 4 pm
President Nixon's former White House counsel will discuss legal ethics in the context of the Watergate hearings, for which he was a key witness.
Multiple venues, 5-9 pm. Afterparty: Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 9 pm
More than 50 local venues host exhibitions, receptions, talks and demos by artists near and far. It's a particularly special night for Tandem Press, which unveils a new space on Commercial Avenue during an event featuring Irish graffiti-art superstar Maser. (See Art.) Beginning at 9 pm, an afterparty at MMoCA celebrates Gallery Night's 25th year with cocktails, cupcakes and radio hits from 1988, handpicked by DJ Nick Nice.
Multiple venues. Also Thursday, Sept. 3, and Saturday, Sept. 5
With nearly 20 events at eight venues, this new fest features more than 40 emerging artists from the area, including Corey Hart (Friday, 7 pm), the Buscemies (Saturday, 9 pm) and Catch Kid (Saturday, 9 pm). See Music for a preview.
UW Vilas Hall's Hemsley Theatre, 7:30 pm. Also Saturday, Oct. 5, 7:30 pm; and Sunday, Oct. 6, 2 pm. Through Oct. 19
University Theatre stages the Tony-winning play about five sisters whose lives start falling apart as they prepare for a harvest festival in 1930s Ireland.
Great Midwest Marijuana Harvest Festival
Crystal Corner Bar, 8 pm. Also Saturday (11:30 am) & Sunday (12:30 pm), Oct. 5 & 6, UW Library Mall
NORML pushes for legalizing pot with three days of speakers, vendors and concerts. The music starts at Crystal Corner Bar with sets by Blind Johnny and Kwame Bediako on Friday, then continues at UW Library Mall with performances by Electric Spanking, Kingtown Rockers and others on Saturday and Sunday. A music-fueled march to the Capitol on Sunday begins at Library Mall at -- you guessed it -- 4:20 pm.
Overture Hall, 8 pm. Also Thursday, Oct. 3, 7:30 pm; Saturday, Oct. 5, 2 & 8 pm; and Sunday, Oct. 6, 1 & 6:30 pm
Get your fill of razzle-dazzle from this touring production of the Broadway smash about corruption and seduction. John O'Hurley of Seinfeld fame stars as Billy Flynn, the lawyer of a wayward chorus girl.
Jin-Wen Yu Dance & UW Dance Department
UW Lathrop Hall, 8 pm
Also Thursday & Saturday, Sept. 3 & 5, 8 pm In a concert of contemporary global dance titled Transit, the UW's Yu will present new work and his award-winning piece "Passage."
UW Union South Sett, 8 pm
Armed with a bouzouki, accordion and fiddle, this award-winning Quebecois trio specialize in traditional French-Canadian folk music.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
Catholic cardinal attire and undisclosed identities are just part of this Swedish metal band's elaborate stage presence. With Skeletonwitch.
UW Memorial Union Terrace, 9:30 pm
This hip-hop artist has a knack for smooth, mellow beats and cerebral lyrics. With Klassik and Coby Ashpis.
Saturday 10.5
NOTEWORTHY: Public Broadcasting Service founded, 1970.
Madison Children's Museum, 10 am-4:30 pm. Also Sunday, Oct. 6, 10 am-4:30 pm
A kid-centric follow-up to Gallery Night, this two-day event features hands-on activities with local artists; an interactive rooftop exhibit on Hmong culture; and the Global Cardboard Challenge, an international event inspired by Caine's Arcade, a film about a 9-year-old who built an elaborate arcade out of cardboard inside his dad's auto parts store.
Central Library, 2 pm
The Madison-based children's author has earned rave reviews and a spot on the best-seller lists for The Year of Billy Miller, his funny, tender new novel for elementary-school kids. He'll read from the story of an anxious 7-year-old beginning the school year amid fears that he won't be smart enough for second grade.
Aldo Leopold Nature Center, 4:30 pm
This family-friendly fundraiser has more food, drink, Celtic music and Irish dancing than you can shake a shillelagh at. Plus a silent auction, bagpipes and a huge (and we do mean huge) bonfire. Begorra.
High Noon Saloon, 6:30 pm
The roots act began playing music together when both members lived in a Mexican barrio. Haunting and subtle, their songs have been praised by Rolling Stone. With the Sills.
First Unitarian Society Auditorium, 8 pm. Also Sunday, Oct. 6, Madison Christian Community, 3:30 pm
Bach isn't the only composer the chamber group venerates. This weekend brings a violin-focused program with works by Handel and Vivaldi, plus a performance by guest soloist Marilyn McDonald, a member of the Smithsonian Institution's quartet-in-residence.
Mary Chapin Carpenter with Shawn Colvin
Overture Center's Capitol Theater, 8 pm
These Lilith Fair alums were radio mainstays in the '90s, with Carpenter's "Passionate Kisses" and Colvin's "Sunny Came Home" in heavy rotation. They'll perform as an acoustic duo at this show.
Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm
The author and humorist may be best known as a correspondent on The Daily Show, but he also played the pitiful PC in Apple's "Get a Mac" ads. With Bill Corbett.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
Words like "twisted" and "voyeuristic" are often tossed around when describing this group's sound and wordplay. Find out why at their live show. (See Jesse Saunders
High Noon Saloon, 10 pm
In 1983 this DJ released "On and On," which many consider the first house-music track. With Wyatt Agard and P Blanchet.
Sunday 10.6
Capital Brewery, 9:30 am-5 pm
Canis lupus familiaris (that's dog to you) takes center stage at this daylong fundraiser for the Dane County Humane Society. Expect a Six Legged Race 5K run/walk, dog contests and food, music and beer for the Homo sapiens in attendance.
Library Mall to the Capitol, 1-3 pm
We love our firefighters, and we love the trucks they ride around in. Watch as more than 30 of the shiny beasts (trucks, not firefighters) wend their way up State Street, lights flashing, sirens blasting. Photo-op alert: Once the trucks are parked around the Square, the kiddies are welcome to climb aboard.
Stoughton Opera House, 1 & 4 pm
You needn't scour YouTube for evidence that felines can ride skateboards, walk across tightropes and perform in rock bands. This fuzzy troupe demonstrates all of these feats and more live.
X's & O's: A Tribute to Elliott Smith
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
A benefit for the Boys & Girls Club, this event features covers of Smith's thoughtful tunes from area artists such as much-lauded Americana act Count This Penny and refreshing rockers Building on Buildings. With Marty Finkel, Paul Otteson, Steven Spoerl, Recreation Station and TT & the Night Owls.
Monday 10.7
NOTEWORTHY: U.S. invasion of Afghanistan begins, 2001.
UW Union South Varsity Hall, 7:30 pm
The Peabody-winning NPR correspondent has written a book about race in the aftermath of President Obama's election and served as cohost for the long-running program All Things Considered. She visits Madison for the UW's Distinguished Lecture Series.
Tuesday 10.8
Majestic Theatre, 8:30 pm
A professional ballerina turned singer-songwriter, this Danish performer follows in the footsteps of Robyn and Feist with her fusion of dance-pop, R&B and effervescent electronic music. With Sun Rai.
Wednesday 10.9
NOTEWORTHY: France abolishes capital punishment, 1981.
Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery, 7 pm
In a free lecture titled "Choosing the Next Experiment: Collective Cognition & the Selection of Scientific Ideas," the University of Chicago sociology professor discusses how social institutions influence different types of knowledge.
Orpheum Theater, 7:30 pm
This Aussie act's tunes are laced with surreal melodies and wrapped in a blanket of psychedelic fuzz. Their latest album, Lonerism, topped Best of 2012 polls at Filter and NME. With White Denim.
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
Former college baseball player Mike Seander became Mike Stud when his single "College Humor" went viral. With Justina and iamG with Mike Medall.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
The son of two Chicago Symphony players, this L.A. performer found his own path as an electronic-music producer. Expect a mix of trap and hip-hop, plus his own spin on songs by acts like Crystal Castles and Imogen Heap. With Phutureprimitive.
Thollem Electric's Keyngdrum Overdrive
The Frequency, 9 pm
Sporting serious keyboard improv chops, analog effects and a punk-infused political ethos, this act has recorded 30 albums in four countries. With Sinister Resonance.
Thursday 10.10
NOTEWORTHY: London Bridge reopens in Arizona, 1971.
Orpheum Theater, 7:30 pm
The wildly popular Welsh metalcore band zero in on their fourth album, Temper Temper. With Black Veil Brides, Stars in Stereo and Throw the Fight.
Frequency, 9 pm
The band's classic rock sound has a country twang that belies their northwestern roots. Their third studio album, Adiós I'm a Ghost, has received raves from the likes of Paste. With Rose Windows.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
This quintet blend prog rock, psychedelia and dance music to create something that sounds like Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream with a dubstep soundtrack. With Earthcry.
Edited by the Prodigal Daughter
