Kathleen Edwards
Madison stages hum with energy this week as the autumn arts season continues to build. The calendar includes: a talk by Lewis Friedland and Michael Xenos; a Promega Gallery show featuring Jeremy Rowe and Richard Lazzaro, and The Golden Age of British Watercolors, 1790-1910 at the Chazen; and; live music from Lil B, 10 Years, Janka Nabay & the Bubu Gang, Andrew Bird, Dillon Francis, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, and Kathleen Edwards.
Monday 9.24
NOTEWORTHY: 60 Minutes debuts on CBS, 1968.
Lewis Friedland, Michael Xenos
Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, 7 pm
In an "Academy Evenings" event called "Social Media and Political Organizing: Slacktivism or Game-changer," the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts and Letters presents an extremely topical lecture by two UW-Madison professors. They'll explore how the rules of political discourse and campaigning are being redefined in the age of the Twitterverse.
Majestic Theatre, 8:30 pm
Slate has described this Bay Area rapper as a "brilliantly warped, post-Lil Wayne deconstructionist," a title that's likely to draw at least a few dissertators from the UW's music department. The set will include material from his new Choices and Flowers and the 13 mixtapes he's released this year.
Tuesday 9.25
NOTEWORTHY: Sandra Day O'Connor becomes first female justice on U.S. Supreme Court, 1981.
Biopharmaceutical Technology Center-Promega Gallery, through Nov. 26. Reception: 4:30-6:30 pm
In a show called "Then & Now," Rowe exhibits historic postcards, while retired UW professor Lazzaro offers a graffiti retrospective.
Majestic Theatre, 7 pm
This band's brand of alt-metal has been drawing Tool and Deftones fans for the past decade. Get a taste of their new album, Minus the Machine, at this show. With Red Jumpsuit Apparatus and the Last Place You Look.
Frequency, 8:30 pm
Intent on making history, Nabay, a singer from Sierra Leone, formed an electronic bamboo-pipe ensemble with members of the Brooklyn, N.Y., bands Skeletons, Chairlift and Gang Gang Dance. After getting picked up by David Byrne's Luaka Bop label, they're well on their way to this goal. With Asumaya and Chants.
Wednesday 9.26
Overture Hall, 7:30 pm
Bird's surname is fitting: He's a talented whistler with a soft spot for nature. His latest album, Break It Yourself, was recorded in a barn with a choir of crickets and a small band of humans (see Music). With Here We Go Magic.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
Though the dubstep explosion has fueled his rise to fame, this L.A. DJ-producer is a master of Moombaton, a blend of heavy basslines, reggaeton rhythms and the dramatic buildups of Dutch house. With Flosstradamus, Deadly Vipers and DJ Shotty.
Thursday 9.27
The Golden Age of British Watercolors, 1790-1910
Chazen Museum of Art, through Dec. 2. Reception: 6:30 pm
This exhibit showcases the art of the watercolor at the height of its popularity in Victorian Britain, when drawing and coloring skills were considered a way to cultivate one's mind. It includes 25 works by major watercolorists, with subject matter ranging from landscapes to fairy painting.
Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder
Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 pm
The Opera House will morph into an old-fashioned hootenanny as these Grammy-winning bluegrass masters brandish their mandolins, banjos and fiddles.
Majestic Theatre, 8:30 pm
This Canadian artist's country-tinged roots-rock has impressed both Rolling Stone and Pitchfork, whose tastes often diverge. To please both factions of critics, she recorded her new album with her indie-darling boyfriend: Bon Iver's Justin Vernon. With Jenn Grant.
