Monday 3.19
Overture Center's Capitol Theater, 7 pm
With this free play, the Overture Center aims to help the community talk about marijuana's effect on teens. A panel discussion follows; bring the kids.
Wisconsin Historical Society auditorium, 7 pm
The Jewish hip-hop kid from Queens is a movie actor, a founder of the Hip-Hop Theater Festival and an award-winner for his one-man shows off-Broadway. He'll give you the news from the frontlines of hip-hop cultural resistance.
Dean Wareham & Britta Phillips
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
Although they've shut down the long-running Luna, band mainstays Wareham and Phillips waft and drift with purpose through the woozy, electronica-shaded folk-rock of their new CD, Back Numbers. Expect them to riff off the ennui-ridden experiments of the Velvet Underground and Lee Hazelwood.
Club 770 in UW Union South, 9:30 pm
Seattle's Blood Brothers careen through untamed original material that sometimes comes across as one frantic scream. Naturally, the Brits get them completely.
Tuesday 3.20
Borders West, 7 pm
The novelist reads from Finn, a dark follow-up to The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that explains how Huck's evil father died.
High Noon Saloon, 7 pm
College professor-turned-touring-Appalachian-style-fiddler Ken Waldman entertains with wry tunes and fascinating plain-spoken stories about his experiences in Alaska. He gets instrumental help from Madison's own John Fabke.
Wisconsin Union Theater, 7:30 pm
The Canadian science broadcaster and environmental activist discusses earthly matters as part of the UW's Distinguished Lecture Series.
Wednesday 3.21
Chazen Museum of Art, 5 pm
The UW professor gets our attention with his lecture's title: "Was German Fascism a Utopia?"
Cafe Montmartre, 9 pm
When they're not serving as the string quartet for fellow Icelanders Sigur Ros, the women of Amiina create ethereal indie-classical hybrids that evoke the fire-and-ice wonderment of their homeland.
Thursday 3.22
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 7 pm
MMoCA's series focuses on cutting-edge work by contemporary filmmakers ' stuff you'll never see in theaters. Yang Fudong's Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest explores the lives of young poets and artists in China.
Booked for Murder, 7 pm
The mystery writer (who also publishes under the name Tim Cockey) is touring with Cold Day in Hell, which finds private eye Fritz Malone investigating a TV star/murderer.
Orpheum Theatre, 7:30 pm
Last year's Safety in Numbers further positioned Umphrey's as a polished rock act with mainstream ambitions. They haven't rejected their jam followers, but they are pitching a bigger tent these days.
Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm
For years, Newfoundland's Great Big Sea have managed to dip into both original pop and Cape Breton material without slighting either side of their musical personality. Fine singers and instrumentalists, they're a must for acoustic music fans.
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
Long Winters' John Roderick sings and strums mightily. Admired for his alternately bittersweet, sarcastic and disarmingly straightforward lyrics, he's a pop-rocker for adults. The Bound Stems, Stars of Track & Field, and the equally crafty Winterpills fill out a talent-rich bill.
King Club, 9 pm
The Porsches claim a German heritage, but their goofball takes on the electronic approach pioneered by Kraftwerk and other Teutonic groovesmiths smacks of U.S.-bred parody.