Toubab Krewe
Madison welcomes the new season this week with a robust lineup of talks, shows, and performances. The calendar includes: laser shows at the Memorial High Planetarium; Greenbush Day; talks by Dan Nerad with Michael Thompson and Julie Underwood, Ibrahim Abdul-Matin, and Henry Louis Gates Jr.; the Jazz Piano Summit and a performance by Jeffrey Siegel; a Rock against Walker benefit; and, more live music from Liza Day, the Andreas Kapsalis & Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo, VibeSquaD, The Rural Alberta Advantage, and Toubab Krewe.
Monday 3.21
NOTEWORTHY: President Jimmy Carter announces U.S. boycott of Moscow Olympics due to Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, 1980.
BIRTHDAYS: Nervy actor Gary Oldman, 1958; comedian/actress/talk show host/litigant Rosie O'Donnell, 1962.
Memorial High School Planetarium, 3:45 & 7 pm. Also Tuesday-Thursday, March 22-24, 3:45 & 7 pm
Just as your granddad waxes nostalgic about cowboy serials at the old movie house, children of the 1970s and 1980s fondly remember laser shows, those improbable spectaculars that united classic-rock son and planetarium lumière. Relive those zonked-out days of yesteryear with tributes to Pink Floyd, the Beatles, Led Zeppelin and more.
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
The Gusto, the Type, local Pixies tribute group Crackity Jones, Damidol and the Bin Men will melt some faces to protest the governor and raise funds for Wisconsin Wave. Even if you're not opposed to Walker's policies, you're likely to be pro this punk- and metal-fueled lineup.
Tuesday 3.22
NOTEWORTHY: Gusty winds knock high-wire icon Karl Wallenda off the wire to his death, 1978.
BIRTHDAYS: Actor/song reciter William Shatner, 1931; actress Reese Witherspoon, 1976.
UW Welcome Center, 3:30-6 pm
Music, dance, food and fun mark the annual celebration of Madison's legendarily diverse Greenbush neighborhood.
High Noon Saloon, 6:30 pm
This Chicago folk rocker blends a warm country sound with a bit of Jagger swagger and a touch of Doris Day's charm. Come see how this combo sounds on the High Noon's stage. With Anna Laube.
Dan Nerad, Michael Thompson, Julie Underwood
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 7 pm
This Academy Evenings talk, called "Getting to A+: Wisconsin's Education Challenges," brings together Madison schools superintendent Nerad, Wisconsin schools deputy superintendent Thompson and UW education dean Underwood. As we have recently learned, public education is a topic about which Wisconsinites have strong feelings.
Overture Center's Capitol Theater, 7:30 pm
Japanese piano phenom Hiromi visits Madison for the first time to share her first solo album, Place to Be. Fellow jazz stars Jacky Terrasson and Cedar Wilson will round out what's bound to be a spellbinding show. Learn more about Hiromi and Place To Be in this week's Tour Stop.
UW Humanities Building's Mills Hall, 7:30 pm
The touring pianist and lecturer presents another evening of music and droll, interesting commentary. This program, called "Paris 1911! a Century Celebration," includes works by Ravel, Debussy, Fauré and Stravinsky.
Wednesday 3.23
NOTEWORTHY: Supermodel Christie Brinkley marries piano man Billy Joel, 1985.
BIRTHDAYS: R&B singer Chaka Khan, 1953; Tony-winning actress Amanda Plummer, 1957.
Andreas Kapsalis & Goran Ivanovic Guitar Duo
High Noon Saloon, 7 pm
This Chicago twosome meld tip-top technique with loads of creativity in their cinematic, orchestral sound, which blends classical, folk, jazz and rock. The pair's performances feature Ivanovic's melodic approach with Kapsalis' percussive style.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
Colorado DJ and producer VibeSquaD harvests bumper crops of tasty beats and juicy bass lines, using them to craft heavy, grime-stained club bangers that fuse dubstep, IDM and electro. Watch him perform his brand-new single, "Sleaze-Me," at this show. With R/D, Kaza.
Thursday 3.24
NOTEWORTHY: Exxon Valdez oil spill, 1989.
BIRTHDAYS: Actress Lara Flynn Boyle, 1970.
UW Science Hall, 7 pm
Abdul-Matin, author of Green Deen: What Islam Teaches About Protecting the Planet, discusses Muslims' environmental obligations, which he calls a sacred trust with God.
UW Humanities Building's Mills Hall, 7:30 pm
He's one of the country's most distinguished public intellectuals, a Harvard literary critic and historian, a writer and producer of documentaries, a journalist. So it was one of the weirder campus sideshows in recent memory, a searing, racially tinged drama, when in 2009 Gates confronted a police officer at his Cambridge home and wound up getting arrested. He might not talk about those events at this Nellie Y. McKay Lecture in the Humanities, but they'll be on everyone's mind.
The Rural Alberta Advantage, In Tall Buildings
High Noon Saloon, 8:30 pm
Toronto trio the Rural Alberta Advantage bring Departing, their brand-new indie-rock album, to town, while one-man folk-meets-chamber-pop project In Tall Buildings previews the 7-inch he's readying for Record Store Day, which takes place April 16 this year. With James Vincent McMorrow.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
West African sounds mingle with all-American roots and rock 'n' roll music when Toubab Krewe hit the stage, yielding a fusion the Village Voice has branded "a futuristic, psychedelic, neo-griot frenzy." Compose your own description as you soak up the tunes. With Rubblebucket.
