The Moscow Ballet
Monday 11.26
Action Action and The Cliks
Loft in the Lussier Teen Center, 7 pm
Polished NYC indie rockers Action Action jump off an ongoing tour with the Cult to ooze and moan their way through '80s-influenced synth-rock that bears the stamp of Echo & the Bunnymen and Depeche Mode. Androgynous Canadian garage rockers the Cliks, a North Country band who have what it takes to crack the U.S. market, approach the same decade through the Pretenders. Shock Stars, Ivory and Pasiflora also appear.
Lama Ole Nydahl
Monona Terrace, 8 pm
For those interested in taking a step down the eightfold path, the Danish Buddhist master gives an introductory lecture on Tibetan Buddhism.
Tuesday 11.27
Over the Rhine
Majestic Theatre, 8:30 pm
On this year's The Trumpet Child, charismatic singer Karen Berquist takes on mood pieces that often expand from pre-1950s New Orleans jazz and blues. Over the Rhine also have an album of original holiday music out, so it's anyone's guess what they'll concentrate on here.
Wednesday 11.28
Thongchai Winichakul
Wisconsin Historical Society Auditorium, 5 pm
The UW professor of Southeast Asian history discusses "The Unforgetting of the 1976 Massacre in Bangkok." Thongchai himself witnessed the massacre as a college student.
Parker Palmer
Borders Books West, 7 pm
The educator discusses the 10th anniversary edition of his inspirational book The Courage to Teach, which explores the inner life of teachers.
Spitalfield
Loft in the Lussier Teen Center, 7 pm
The long-running Chicago punk-poppers are moving on to new challenges after their current farewell tour, so don't hesitate. The Forecast, the Graduate, Attention and Shindig fill out the night.
Cowboy Junkies
Majestic Theatre, 7:30 pm
The moody Canadians won't ever escape the languid country and rock that marked their early career. Indeed, last month they released a reinterpretation of The Trinity Session. But that's not all they're about. Among other things, they're also adept at noisier trance rock.
Moscow Ballet
Middleton-Cross Plains Area Performing Arts Center, 7:30 pm. Also Thursday, Nov. 29, 7:30 pm
The classical dance troupe performs its Great Russian Nutcracker, incorporating larger-than-life puppets and primitivist sets inspired by Henri Rousseau. Athletic leaps, dazzling pirouettes, elegantly turned ankles -- what's not to like?
UW Wind Ensemble with John DeMain
Mills Hall in the UW Humanities Bldg., 7:30 pm
Here's an unusual treat: a chance to see the Madison Symphony Orchestra's internationally renowned conductor, John DeMain, in a different local setting. He takes the baton from Scott Teeple at the end of the UW Wind Ensemble's concert, conducting Paul Hindemith's "Symphonic Metamorphosis."
Vanna
Annex, 8 pm
The Warped Tour alums hardly take a breath as they blow through their aggressive post-hardcore. Therefore I Am, Leave the Limbs You've Lost, and Oregon Falls open.
Thursday 11.29
Marty Stuart
Majestic Theatre, 8:30 pm
Stuart's one of the most vital, talented and open-minded country artists around. He can pick bluegrass like nobody's business, wring tears from a honeyed ballad and make like a Sun Records rockabilly cat -- and that's just for starters. This intimate showcase is a real treat for country fans. The Blueheels open.
