Valentino Achak Deng and Dave Eggers
The arts are well-represented across the board in Madison this first week of November. The calendar includes: a performance of The Rap Canterbury Tales, a readings by Jennifer Chiaverini, and a talk by Dave Eggers with Valentino Achak Deng; a gallery opening featuring Orestes Larios Zaak and Gregorio Perez Escobar and a cabaret performance by Elizabeth Ward Land; and, live music by Bishop Allen, Ghostface Killah, Needtobreathe, Bassnectar, Tiempo Libre, The Bouncing Souls, and White Denim.
Monday 11.2
ALL SOULS DAY
NOTEWORTHY: Haile Selassie crowned emperor of Ethiopia, 1930.
BIRTHDAYS: Constantly craving pop chanteuse K.D. Lang, 1962; rapper Nelly, 1974.
Chazen Museum of Art, 4 pm
In this UW Year of Humanities event, the Vancouver performance artist Baba Brinkman retells portions of Chaucer's enduring poem in hip-hop form.
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
Though the Brooklyn, N.Y., band are better known to many for their roles in indie films such as Funny Ha Ha and Mutual Appreciation, they've got a solid new album (Grrr...) full of Beatles-esque melodies with an indie-pop twist reminiscent of Wilco at some moments and Belle and Sebastian at others. With Throw Me the Statue and Darwin Deez.
Tuesday 11.3
NOTEWORTHY: 17.3-inch snowfall sets all-time one-day record for Madison, 1990.
BIRTHDAYS: Singer Adam Ant, 1954.
Barnes & Noble West, 7 pm
The local author reads from her latest Elm Creek Quilts novel, A Quilter's Holiday, set during the Christmas season.
Barrymore Theatre, 9 pm
The Wu-Tang rapper with a penchant for non sequiturs just released his eighth studio album as a solo artist (Ghostdini: Wizard of Poetry in Emerald City), which he's described as an R&B-flavored project that grew out of collaboration with Jodeci and Ne-Yo. Expect him to work some magic onstage as well. Fashawn, F. Stokes and DJ Vinne Toma open.
Wednesday 11.4
NOTEWORTHY: Barack Obama wins 53% of the popular vote and 365 electoral votes to become first African American elected U.S. president, 2008.
BIRTHDAYS: Actor Matthew McConaughey, 1969.
Orestes Larios Zaak, Gregorio Perez Escobar: Cuban Artists in Madison
Edgewood College's DeRicci Gallery, through Nov. 24
Here's a rare opportunity to check out work by a pair of Cuban artists (see Arts Beat).
Dave Eggers, Valentino Achak Deng
Chazen Museum of Art, 7:30 pm
McSweeney's founder Eggers is a Gen-X literary icon, and he couldn't be more zeitgeisty thanks to having co-written the new Where the Wild Things Are movie. He appears at this UW Humanities Without Boundaries event alongside Deng, the Sudanese Lost Boy who's the subject of Eggers' 2006 book What Is the What.
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
The South Carolina quartet practices a soulful, hook-inflected brand of Jesus music. With Serena Ryder, Mike Droho.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
The San Fran electronic artist makes crowd-wowing tunes out of unlikely combinations of dub, ragtime, beatboxing, death metal and even polka. Find out more in this week's Tour Stop. With Nosaj Thing.
Thursday 11.5
NOTEWORTHY: Shirley Chisholm becomes first African American woman elected to U.S. House of Representatives, 1968.
BIRTHDAYS: Actress Tilda Swinton, 1960.
Overture Center's Capitol Theater, 7 pm
The stage star kicks off Overture's Cabaret Dinner Theater series with a show called "A Broadway Harvest." It draws on her Broadway career and her new album, First Harvest.
Wisconsin Union Theater, 8 pm
These conservatory-trained Cuban expats play some of the finest Latin jazz you'll hear these days. Their newest release, Bach in Havana, sets the composer's tunes to Afro-Cuban beats.
Majestic Theatre, 8:30 pm
The veteran punk rockers celebrate their band's 20th anniversary with a tour to support the 12 digital singles they've been releasing, one per month, this year. However, with the energy and chutzpah these guys bring to the stage, you'd never guess that Greg Attonito and company are old enough to drink, let alone have mortgages and families. With Bayside and Broadway Calls.
High Noon Saloon, 8:30 pm
The Austin, Texas-based trio knits together loops of acid blues, garage rock and dub, unraveling the verse-chorus-verse convention of rock songs in the process. With Brazos and His & Her Vanities.
