Cool science and video poetry

Find out more in Isthmus Picks for Oct. 7-14

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On Oct. 4, Public Health Madison and Dane County extended its face covering requirement for public indoor spaces through at least Nov. 5. It continues to include a range of exemptions in the last order, including for the performing arts. Many venues and businesses also have instituted requirements for proof of COVID-19 vaccination or a negative test to attend events. Before heading out, confirm events are still taking place and check for current guidelines on the relevant business websites or social media accounts.

Cool Science Image Contest, Thursday, Oct. 7, Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research-Vision Gallery, 4:30-6:30 p.m.: Although the UW-Madison's long-running web magazine The Why Files closed up shop in 2016, its annual exhibit featuring images taken with cameras, microscopes or telescopes continues. The 2020 and 2021 selections are currently on display through Dec. 17 in the McPherson Eye Research Institute’s Mandelbaum and Albert Family Vision Gallery, located on the ninth floor of the Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research building at 1111 Highland Ave., and a public reception for the image creators takes place Oct. 7. See the images online here.

Xanadu, Thursday, Oct. 7, Verona Area High School, 7 p.m.: A Greek muse, Kyra, leaves Mount Olympus for Venice Beach, California, to help Sonny, an artist, achieve the first roller disco. But when the two fall in love, Kira’s sisters grow jealous and hilarious mayhem ensues. Xanadu debuted on Broadway in 2007, earning a Tony Award nomination for Best Musical; it's based on the 1980 film of the same name. The roller-skating musical will be the first show in Verona Area High School’s new performing arts center. Purchase tickets online. Also: Friday (7 p.m.) and Saturday (2 p.m. and 7 p.m.), Oct. 8-9.

Artists Beyond Boundaries, Thursday, Oct. 7, online, 7 p.m.: All artists want their works to be seen and appreciated, and to head out into the world. Access to Independence helps make that a reality for Wisconsin artists with disabilities by sponsoring the annual Artists Beyond Boundaries exhibition, which takes place for a second year as a virtual gala. During the livestream, the 12 works chosen by a juried panel to be included in the group's 2022 calendar will be announced; all submitted works will also be exhibited, and viewers can vote for a 13th winner of the “people's choice award.” Register here for the livestream; donations to help support the program can be made here.

Days N Daze, Thursday, Oct. 7, High Noon Saloon, 7:30 p.m.: If old-timey string band music doesn't have enough attitude and speed (or trumpet) for your tastes, Days N Daze may be the band for you. Adding punk-metal vocals to a bluegrass approach could wind up a gimmick but this quartet pulls it off with a totally dedicated approach and heartfelt, no punches pulled songwriting. After a decade-plus of DIY releases they joined Fat Wreck Chords for the 2020 release Show Me the Blueprints. With Bridge City Sinners, Holy Locus, Doom Scroll.

A Woman Is, Thursday, Oct. 7, Brink Lounge, 7:30 p.m.: TNW Ensemble Theater's latest production, A Woman Is, finally gets the chance to hit the stage following several postponements due to COVID. It's a one-woman cabaret-style show starring Kiki Moritsugu, who shares songs and stories of the world of theater from her life and her mother's life. It was written by TNW co-artistic director Danielle Dresden, who interviewed Moritsugu to gather stories for the play. Also: Saturday (7:30 p.m.) and Sunday (4 p.m.), Oct. 9-10. Tickets here.

Dan Bern, Thursday, Oct. 7, The Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: If you're looking for a song on any topic, it's possible you will find it in the extensive catalog of singer-songwriter, visual artist, novelist and podcaster Dan Bern. Just since the beginning of COVID quarantine times Bern has released collections of songs tackling pandemic times, the last days of Trump, baseball, and tennis — and those aren't all of them. He's also a great live performer, so a fun night is guaranteed for all in the inviting concert room of The Bur Oak. Tickets here.

Clue, Thursday, Oct. 7, Bartell Theatre, 8 p.m.: When their dinner party host turns up dead, it’s up to the attendees to figure out who did it. Miss Scarlet, Mrs. Peacock, Colonel Mustard, Mr. Green, Professor Plum and Mrs. White haphazardly look for the culprit in this murder mystery comedy filled with twists and turns. Written by Sandy Rustin, Clue is based on the 1985 film and the Hasbro board game. ALSO: Friday (8 p.m.) and Saturday (4 p.m.), Oct. 8-9.

Catfish Cataclysm, Friday-Sunday, Oct. 8-10, Marriott-West, Middleton: Never fear, “Catfish Cataclysm” is not the new murder hornets. Catfish are our friends, particularly for those who have an aquarium at home. This biennial event hosted by Madison Area Aquatic Hobbyists mixes lectures by experts on the piscene world, along with rare fish auctions and other activities. Registration for the full weekend of events is $65, so this is aimed at the serious hobbyist; however, the vendor room is open to all on Saturday and Sunday, with no registration needed. Find the full schedule and registration info at catfish-cataclysm.com.

Symbiosis: Art and the Community, through Nov. 21, Communication: The artists whose work is featured in the storefront of nonprofit music and community art space Communication are a big part of how the venue has weathered the ongoing pandemic, since a part of the proceeds of sales funds programming and maintenance. But in the exhibit Symbiosis: Art and the Community, all proceeds will go back to the 19 participating creators. The show will remain on display through Nov. 21; current regular hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Fridays and 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdays.

SOAR grand opening, Friday, Oct. 8, 4513 Milwaukee St., 3-6 p.m.: We love a grand opening and this one for SOAR Case Management Services features good food from Arod’s Tex Mex, which specializes in birria brisket tacos, and music from Shakey, which specializes in covering the music of the great Neil Young. SOAR offers a full range of services, advice and referrals for adults with mental health or substance use concerns, and it’s good to see it in a spiffy new home.

Peter Hoffman, Friday, Oct. 8, Garver Feed Mill, 6 p.m.: If you like food memoirs, this one's for you. Chef Peter Hoffman will be at Garver Feed Mill discussing and signing copies of his new book What's Good? A Memoir in Fourteen Ingredients. The longtime owner of Savoy, a Greenwich Village restaurant, Hoffman is as good a storyteller as Bourdain or Gabrielle Hamilton and with as wide a range of interests including botany, plant genetics, and New York’s restaurant scene. See more here. ALSO: At 5:30 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9, at the Frank Lloyd Wright Visitor Center, Spring Green, Hoffman will participate in a discussion on “Food, Planet, and the Delicious Questions in Between” with Keefe Keeley, co-author of The Driftless Reader, and moderator Odessa Piper.

Midwest Video Poetry Fest, Friday-Saturday, Oct. 8-9, Arts + Literature Laboratory, 7 p.m.: Not simply videos of poets standing in front of a podium reciting their works, these short films combine poetry and the visual for what amounts to a new art form. Last year’s inaugural fest from ALL was virtual, but this year will feature in-person screenings with limited attendance, social distancing and other safety precautions. Each night features a different slate of 17-18 films, ranging from about a minute to 6 minutes in length. The festival can also be watched on YouTube starting Oct. 11 for two weeks. Find all the details at artlitlab.org.

Kyle Gass, Friday, Oct. 8, Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 p.m.: Last year was a strange sort of “vacci-cation” for some, what with the nation slowing to a crawl while awaiting the COVID vaccines. Kyle Gass — half of the rock-comedy outfit Tenacious D — spent that time drinking orange juice and writing some new headbangers. His fresh single “Vaccinated” was a cute play on the Ramones classic “I Wanna Be Sedated,” and the positive response inspired the Kyle Gass Must Save The World 2021 tour by Gass and his Merry Band O’ Broze. Chris Fairbanks opens with a stand-up set.

Seckond Chaynce, Saturday, Oct. 9, The Red Zone/Annex, 7 p.m.: Metal, hip-hop and country aren’t genres combined in the repertoire of many artists, but Seckond Chaynce (aka Trevor Thomas) does it up right, and often cross-pollinates the various styles for good measure. The Florida singer/rapper is heading out on tour ahead of the Old Country Soul EP, due out Oct. 21.

con vivo! Saturday, Oct. 9, First Congregational Church, 7:30 p.m.: In honor of Beethoven’s 250th birthday, con vivo!…music with life will commence its 18th season of chamber music concerts with a “Beethoven Birthday Bash.” The program includes variations on "Ode to Joy" for solo organ, the Quintet for piano and winds and Septet for string and winds. con vivo! is a professional chamber music ensemble, made up of seven Madison-area musicians. Masks and vaccinations are required for all attendees.

Aoife O’Donovan with Bull Frogs Croon, Saturday, Oct. 9, Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 p.m.: The ethereal vocals of Aoife O’Donovan and the plaintive string quartet Bull Frogs Croon make for a stunning melodic combo that’s not quite experimental, yet certainly not traditional folk. Here’s hoping O’Donovan plays some of her terrific Springsteen covers from her September Bandcamp release Aoife plays Nebraska, a remake of the whole album. Taylor Ashton opens.

Ohmme, Saturday, Oct. 9, Memorial Union Terrace, 8 p.m.: Sima Cunningham and Macie Stewart formed a close friendship as songwriters navigating the Chicago music scene, and came together to form the avant-garde rock band Ohmme. The duo debuted with a self-titled EP in 2017; their most recent release is the September single “Province,” a collaboration with Bartees Strange and Eric Slick. With an opening set by 21-year-old pianist Abigail Arkley.

Chili Cook-Off for a Cause, Sunday, Oct. 10, Karben4 Brewing, noon-6 p.m.: It's that time of year again. Not pumpkin spice latte, charitable chili. It's a great idea: pair the one dish pretty much anybody can cook with a best-of-show contest; have the judges pay for the privilege of tasting the goods and crowning the winner; and donate the proceeds to charity. Eureka. This fundraiser for Camp Createability will also feature music from Soggy Prairie and Tim Finnegan. Tasting tickets are $20 ($15 adv.), which includes a sample of all chilis as well as a bowl of your favorite, toppings and bread. $5 for an extra bowl of chili. Info for cooks who want to compete can be found at createabilitywi.org. Camp Createability gives kids and adults with autism and other disabilities lessons and hands-on experience in the arts and entertainment fields.

Sunday Afternoon Live, Sunday, Oct. 10, Chazen Museum of Art, 12:15 p.m.: One of the most beautiful traditions of the UW-Madison campus is this free chamber music concert from the galleries of the university's art museum, held Sunday afternoons during the fall and spring semesters. While guest acts in the series vary, the house band, as it were, is the university's Pro Arte Quartet. The quartet revives the series Oct. 10 with a set list of Beethoven. The concerts are working a little differently this year; attendance is limited, and audience members need to sign up for free tickets beforehand. Arrive by 12:15 p.m. or your seat may be given away to walk-up guests. In person, visitors must wear masks when inside campus buildings. The performance, starting at 12:30 p.m., will also stream at facebook.com/ChazenArtUW.

Pundamonium, Monday, Oct. 11, High Noon Saloon, 6 p.m.: This contest sounds pretty pun…10 contestants each have two minutes to deliver puns based on a prompt they receive ahead of time, and are scored on a 1-10 scale by five audience-member judges. A second round gives contestants a prompt and 30 seconds to dream up two more minutes of puns. It all comes down to a final pun-off where the top four contestants take each other on. So sit back, relax and enjoy a pun-derful evening of word play and laughs.

Blvck Hippie, Monday, Oct. 11, The Bur Oak, 8 p.m.: Josh Shaw has been releasing singles since 2018 from his project Blvck Hippie; the September debut album, If You Feel Alone at Parties, features 11 snapshots of feelings, cymbals skittering like tears over Shaw’s moody guitar rock melodies. (The wobbly guitar line of “Answering Machine” is guaranteed to be either your favorite earworm this month — or send you running for cover.) More feels are provided on this excellent bill by Madison pop/rock artists Kat and the Hurricane and Algo Más.

Metal Brunch, Saturday, Nov. 6, Crucible, 11 a.m. (RSVP by Nov. 2; note, date changed for this event): Scheduled to start about 12 hours earlier than most metal bands are accustomed to hitting the stage, this unusual double bill will feature 45-minute sets each from Cowboy Amazing (a Madison band that released the five-song EP There’s Nothing More American Than Wearing Something Else’s Skin in January) and Toxic Ruin (Sheboygan-based thrashers whose Nightmare Eclipse album came out in August). Planned festivities include cartoon viewing between bands, a Bloody Mary bar, raffles and — best of all — an epic maple pancake breakfast. Hosted by Wisconsin metal promoter Adrenaline Armory, this experimental event sort of gives us a “Smut and Eggs” vibe. Only better. Note, however: Tickets are available only in advance, through Nov. 2, at metalbrunch.brownpapertickets.com.

Drive-By Truckers + Buffalo Nichols, Tuesday, Oct. 12, Barrymore Theatre, 8 p.m.: One of the all-time great alt-country/Southern rock bands celebrates a quarter-century of ass-kicking in 2021. The pandemic may have kept Drive-By Truckers off the road for 15 months, but they were far from quiet, releasing two studio albums in 2020 — The Unraveling and The New OK, both of which went for the jugular with songs about gun violence, the U.S.-Mexico border, Black Lives Matter and COVID-19. In August, the band issued a two-CD archive recording captured in 2006 in front of about 200 of DBT’s closest friends at Plan 9 Records in Richmond, Virginia. Buffalo Nichols, a Texas bluesman who grew up in Milwaukee, will be the supporting act.

Carbon Leaf, Tuesday, Oct. 12, High Noon Saloon, 8 p.m.: These veteran Virginia-based indie rockers — who fuse alt-country, Celtic and folk influences — peaked commercially in 2004 with “Life Less Ordinary,” a Top Five single on the Billboard Adult Alternative Airplay charts. But much of the band’s best work has come in its latter years. Carbon Leaf re-recorded some of its earlier albums but also is in the midst of releasing The Gathering series, four EPs that emphasize the value of building community and embracing connections — a theme that couldn’t be more relevant as the band hits the road again and returns to Madison for the first time since 2009.

How to be an Anti-Racism Advocate and Why It Matters, Wednesday, Oct. 13, UW Elvehjem Building-Room L150, 5 p.m.: The cultural upheavals of the past year have made many wonder if the United States will ever truly reckon with its original sins of violence and racism. Part of the solution is individual advocacy against racism in all its forms; resources and actions to do so will be discussed during this Humanities Without Boundaries talk hosted by the UW-Madison Center for the Humanities. The lecture will be given by University of Colorado Boulder Center for the Humanities and the Arts Director Jennifer Ho, who will discuss the topic of racism with a focus on anti-Asian violence and her personal and professional advocacy work in anti-racism.

Wisconsin Conference on Latinx Art & Culture, Friday, Oct. 15, online, 8:15 a.m.-1 p.m. (RSVP by Oct. 13): Latinos Organizing for Understanding & Development (LOUD) presents this seminar spotlighting Badger State creators, either from here or who have significant Wisconsin connections. TED Talks-style presentations and Q&A sessions include topics such as Dane Arts Mural Arts (by Veronica Figueroa Vélez), poetry in the Midwest (Angela Trudell Vásquez), filmmaking for social change (Alex Miranda Cruz), and much more. The virtual conference is free, but sign up by 5 p.m. on Oct. 13 at loudwisconsin.org.

Eleanor C. Whitney, Wednesday, Oct. 13, online, 7 p.m.: A Room of One’s Own hosts author Eleanor C. Whitney for a Crowdcast conversation about her new book, Riot Woman: Using Feminist Values to Destroy the Patriarchy. Riot grrrl and zine culture of the 1990s and early 2000s shaped Whitney’s childhood, and she documents the challenges of sticking to those feminist values and her punk-rock upbringing as an adult in her new memoir. Whitney will be joined in conversation by Raechel Anne Jolie, author of Rust Belt Femme, and L Torres. Register here.

Crystal Bowersox, Wednesday, Oct. 13, Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 p.m.: Since finishing as runner-up on the ninth season of American Idol in 2010, Crystal Bowersox has released a handful of full-length studio albums and EPs, several singles and a live record — all of which showcase her sweet, intoxicating blues-inflected voice. She’s reportedly developing an autobiographical musical project titled Trauma Queen, and she’s also become an advocate for people living with Type 1 diabetes. A new album, Hitchhiker, was slated for release in 2020 but was delayed. Chicago-based singer-songwriter Phillip-Michael Scales (B.B. King’s nephew, by the way) will open the show with a compelling blend of blues, soul, rock and pop.

FCI Art Show, Thursday, Oct. 14, 2551 Parmenter St., Middleton, 5:30-9 p.m.: This annual fundraiser art sale and auction is hosted by Food Concepts Inc. (a branding design and creation business) at its Middleton facility. Featured creators this year are ReMitts, a local group upcycling sweaters into mittens with sales donated to local nonprofits; and Ledger Designs, which makes screen-printed apparel with hand-drawn designs. The silent auction begins online Oct. 9, and also features art donated by the community and antique phones donated by TDS. Final bids will be taken at the in-person event Oct. 14; register here.

The Taming of the Shrew, Thursday, Oct. 14, American Players Theatre, Spring Green, 7:30 p.m.: While it’s one of Shakespeare’s most easily comprehended and rollicking comedies, The Taming of the Shrew has not fared well in recent years because of its undeniable sexism. APT tackles the problem play by seeing it as “a satire about how society tries to bend this couple into shapes they’re simply not built for.” It will be exciting to see how these Shakespeare pros fare. ALSO: Friday (7:30 p.m.), Saturday (6 p.m.), Sunday (1 & 6 p.m.), and Tuesday (7:30 p.m.), Oct. 15-19. Through Nov. 14; find the schedule and tickets at americanplayers.org.

Pert Near Sandstone, Thursday, Oct. 14, High Noon Saloon, 8 p.m.: This progressive bluegrass five-piece is marking its return to touring with a first stop in Madison. Based in Minneapolis, Pert Near Sandstone released their debut album, Up and Down the River, in 2007. In 2015, the string band founded the Blue Ox Music Festival, a popular summer music and camping destination for Americana fans (currently scheduled to return to its traditional June perch in 2022). Also on the bill is The People Brothers Band, an eight-person rhythm and soul band from Madison.

We hope it’s handy for you to find the Picks in a single weekly post. The individual Picks can still be found in the usual places online: collected here, and chronologically throughout all the events.

Editor's note: This post has been updated with a new date for the Metal Brunch event.