Mask up for fun

Halloween weekend concerts, plus many more Isthmus Picks for Oct. 28-Nov. 4

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.

Wisconsin Academy Fiction and Poetry Readings, Thursday, Oct. 28, Crowdcast, 7 p.m.: Each year the Wisconsin Academy conducts a contest for short fiction and poetry written by state residents, with the winners published in Wisconsin People & Ideas magazine. It’s always a pleasure to see who comes out on top and to read literature often set in our own backyards. In fiction, viewers will hear “Honor Cord,” by Allison Uselman, “Everything Burns,” by Kim Suhr, and “Protocol of Print” by Yvette Viets Flaten. Poetry readings include “The Father” by Jennifer Fandel, “Saint Simone” by David Southward, and “Let My Hands Too Bring the Day” by Paula Schulz. This year’s winners will be reading during a Crowdcast livestream; join the event at crowdcast.io/e/wbf-wi-people-ideas-2021.

Winter Starts Now, Thursday, Sept. 28, Barrymore Theatre, 7:30 p.m.: It's a seasonal warm-up, so to speak, for skiers and snowboarders: the annual tour premiering the latest Warren Miller Entertainment film. Miller's first “official” film in the series, Deep and Light, went on tour in 1950, which makes this year's opus, Winter Starts Now, No. 72. The film mostly highlights western states this year, but also features locations in Alaska and Maine. Tickets here.

The Taming of the Shrew, Thursday, Oct. 28, 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.” Read Gwendolyn Rice's review here. ALSO: Friday (7:30 p.m.), Saturday (6 p.m.), Sunday (1 & 6 p.m.), and Tuesday-Wednesday (7:30 p.m.), Oct. 29-Nov. 3. Through Nov. 14; find the schedule and tickets at americanplayers.org.

Seilies EP release, Thursday, Oct. 28, High Noon Saloon, 7:30 p.m.: Madison trio Seilies keeps it heavy with pounding riffs, tight playing, and a strong blend of melodic and growled vocals. They will play the new EP Changes at this concert, along with songs from their 2018 debut album, Tribulations and Augmentation. With Amberstein, Acyuta.

Ripcord, Thursday, Oct. 28, Bartell Theatre, 7:30 p.m.: When forced to share a room in a nursing home, Abby, “the cranky one,” and new resident Marilyn, “the nice one,” make a bet. Both women go to extreme lengths in their quests to earn the Bristol Place Senior Living Facility room for themselves in Ripcord, a comedy authored by David Lindsay-Abaire and directed for Strollers Theatre by Sean Langenecker. ALSO: Friday (7:30 p.m.) and Saturday (2 p.m.), Oct. 29-30.

Halloween at Bos, Friday, Oct. 29 (6:30 p.m.) and Saturday, Oct. 30 (7 p.m.), Bos Meadery: Hard rock and metal fans have their Halloween weekend destination set with these back-to-back showcases of regional bands. Oct. 29 features Cowboy Amazing, Lower Automation, Mhos & Ohms, and Daughters of Saint Crispin, a duo project by Russell Emerson Hall and Peter Leonard, whose eponymous full-length debut was released over the summer. Oct. 30 heads in a thrashier direction, with locals Order of the Jackyl and Diskillery joined by Chicago’s Cunning Like Cobras, as well as Madison punk-metal vets YLAB.

Going to Temple, Friday, Oct. 29, online, 7 p.m.: Ringing in their 22nd season, Encore Studio for the Performing Arts brings back Joshua and Aunt Lauren for a revised version of 2013’s Going to Temple. The story unpacks Joshua’s place in society as an individual with autism as he and his aunt take an epic adventure to meet autism activist Temple Grandin. Going to Temple was written by KelsyAnne Schoenhaar and directed by Heather Renken for Encore, established in 2000 as Wisconsin’s first professional theater company for those with disabilities. The filmed production premieres at 7 p.m. on Oct. 29 and will be available through 11 p.m. on Nov. 13; tickets here.

Boograss Ball, Friday, Oct. 29, Majestic Theatre, 8 p.m.: The Stevens Point-birthed, Madison-based sensation Armchair Boogie mixes traditional bluegrass instrumentation (banjo, guitar) with electric bass and drums into danceable jamgrass. The Boograss Ball should be perfect for Halloween revelry as the bill is shared with funksters Steez. Find a comfortable mask that fits under your holiday mask and get ready to shake it.

We Should Have Been DJs, Friday, Oct. 29, Crucible, 8 p.m.: Veteran Madison rock outfit We Should Have Been DJs only recently returned to clubland for the first time since COVID. The band alternates pretty and pretty crusty in equal measure but always maintains a strong melodic sensibility. With Dear Mr. Watterson, who just released an excellently raging EP, Confusion Perfected. And how can you not go to a show on Halloween weekend with a bill including The Fiendish Phantoms, Grave Dancer and Ghostar?

Anwar Floyd-Pruitt, through Dec. 3, Edgewood College-The Stream Gallery: Milwaukee/Madison artist Anwar Floyd-Pruitt follows his 2020 show Supernova at The Chazen with a smaller but maybe even more impressive and focused collection of mixed media works on paper and canvas, titled Usable Scraps. Questions of identity and self-representation recur as Floyd-Pruitt stencils, collages and paints rough and hodgepodged portraits on crumpled paper and found materials that are pinned, grommeted and stapled. While the cobbled-together representations can be disconcerting, the overall effect is of unrestrained exuberance. The gallery is open 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Wednesday-Friday and noon-4 p.m. Saturday-Sunday.

Tim Daisy Quartet, Friday, Oct. 29, North Street Cabaret, 8 p.m.: This BlueStem Jazz concert is likely the pick of the month for fans of improvised music. The ensemble is led by drummer Tim Daisy, a Chicago-based composer/improvisational player and prolific recording artist, joined by saxophonist Dave Rempis, a frequent collaborator and fellow long-time Chicago music scene mainstay. (For a preview of their work together, seek out The COVID Tapes on the Aerophonic Records Bandcamp page.) The quartet also features a pair of NYC scene leaders currently working as educators in the Midwest: trumpeter Russ Johnson and bassist John Hébert. All are prominent bandleaders, so the ideas are sure to be flying fast and heavy when they collaborate.

Madison Bach Musicians, Saturday-Sunday, Oct. 30-31, Holy Wisdom Monastery, Middleton: “German Baroque Masters” is the theme for the Madison Bach Musicians season-opening concerts. The ensemble will be joined by guest soloist Elizabeth Blumenstock, an expert violinist and educator of Baroque-era music. Blumenstock and MBM concertmaster Kangwon Kim will tackle Johann Sebastian Bach’s Concerto in D minor for Two Violins, and works by Fasch, Graun, Handel and Telemann will also be featured. Concerts are at 8 p.m. on Oct. 30 and 3:30 p.m. on Oct. 31, with lectures 45 minutes preceding; Saturday’s concert will also be livestreamed and available on demand through Nov. 14. Find ticket options at madisonbachmusicians.org.

Freakin' Halloweekend, Saturday, Oct. 30, High Noon Saloon, 7:30 p.m.: This annual Halloween concert gives local musicians a chance to find some costumes, mix-and-match with members of other bands, and play a set of music by a favorite legend. The 15th anniversary show features tributes to David Bowie, The Blues Brothers, The Cranberries and The Strokes (by The Earthlings), plus a rare solo Freakin' Halloweekend set of Bob Dylan songs by Dan Hooper (of Chicago soul sensations The Congregation). The audience also gets the chance to take the stage as part of the costume contest.

Howl-O-Ween, Sunday, Oct. 31, Wisconsin Brewing Company, Verona, 12:30 p.m.: If you're roommates with a pup who enjoys playacting, the catwalk — or, in this case, dogwalk — awaits. WBC is hosting a dog costume contest to help celebrate Halloween; it's free, but pre-registration is required. Humans are encouraged to dress up as well, and winners will be announced at 2:30 p.m.

George Hesselberg, Tuesday, Nov. 2, Monroe Street Arts Center, 7 p.m.: One of the great things about Madison and Dane County that doesn’t get talked about enough is the presence of the irrepressible former Wisconsin State Journal columnist George Hesselberg. At one point when the WSJ reassigned him to a news beat, bumper stickers sprang up that declared FREE GEORGE HESSELBERG. Well, Hesselberg — now retired — is free to write about whatever he wants (as evidenced by his Facebook posts). He’s also collected some of his columns profiling people who didn’t always get noticed yet lead extraordinary lives in a new book, Dead Lines: Slices of Life from the Obit Beat. He’ll be in conversation about it with another local journalism legend, Doug Moe, in this event hosted by Mystery to Me. Note: The event is now taking place in person, at Monroe Street Arts Center; tickets are free but required. The previously announced Crowdcast stream will remain available.

Mirin Fader, Tuesday, Nov. 2, Central Library, 7 p.m.: This year the Milwaukee Bucks did what fans have waited five decades for: Ended a season as NBA champs. A big part of the team's renaissance has been power forward Giannis Antetokounmpo, who quickly developed from a somewhat surprising draftee from the Greek Basket League into a dominating NBA force. Mirin Fader, a staff writer for sports/pop culture website The Ringer, charts the rise of Antetokounmpo in the new book Giannis: The Improbable Rise of an NBA MVP. Fader will discuss the book in a livestream hosted by the Wisconsin Book Festival.

UW Diversity Forum, Tuesday-Wednesday, Nov. 2-3, Union South/online, 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m.: The UW-Madison Division of Diversity, Equity & Educational Achievement hosts this annual symposium, open to all, to provide education and insight on current topics in the continuing fight for equality and social justice. Along with workshop sessions and panel discussions, this year's event includes a very timely panel discussion on voting rights (2:45 p.m., Nov. 2). Keynote speakers are Russell Jeung, co-founder of the Stop AAPI Hate reporting center, discussing the rise in harassment and violence against people of Asian descent in the U.S. during the past year and a half (9 a.m., Nov. 2); and Steven Canals, a screenwriter, producer and co-creator of the FX series Pose, on centering marginalized voices (2:30 p.m., Nov. 3). Limited in-person seating is available to the campus community on Nov. 2; that day's program and Nov. 3 will all be available online. Find the full schedule and registration info at diversity.wisc.edu. Note: The dates have been corrected for this event.

Yaa Gyasi, Wednesday, Nov. 3, UW Memorial Union-Shannon Hall, 7 p.m.: This year's Go Big Read community book selection by UW-Madison is Transcendent Kingdom by Yaa Gyasi. The novel tells the story of a Ghanian family living in Alabama and their search for a way to overcome tragedy, white America's hostility to “others,” and depression, as narrated by Gifty, a doctoral candidate researching the brain's pathways to addiction. Gyasi will participate in a discussion of the novel with Brittle Paper editor and founder Ainehi Edoro-Glines. A livestream will also be available here.

Todd Snider, Thursday, Nov. 4, Barrymore Theatre, 7:30 p.m.: When touring was impossible for a year, Todd Snider was among the first to pivot to a weekly livestream. Initially billed with the highly appropriate moniker “What it Is,” the Sunday morning event eventually became “The Get Together." Both incarnations were a bright spot each weekend, with Snider’s songs and storytelling helping many of us who were missing the emotional connection of in-person concerts. The songs on Snider’s latest album, The First Agnostic Church of Hope and Wonder, draw on his experience in the role of providing weekly inspiration during a dark time, and also offer tribute to friends lost during the pandemic, including John Prine.

The Amateurs, Thursday, Nov. 4, Overture Center-Playhouse, 7:30 p.m.: Canceled when COVID-19 hit in March 2020, the Wisconsin premiere of The Amateurs, directed by Jen Uphoff Gray for Forward Theater, is back on. In what must surely count as irony, the play concerns Hollis, who's a member of a troupe of actors attempting to outrun the Black Plague in the 14th century. Of course it's a comedy. Because at a certain point you do just have to laugh. But it's also a look at the importance of art in bad times. Bonus: The company offers an intriguing series of lectures related to themes in the play, free and open to all, at 6:30 p.m. on Saturdays in the Playhouse lobby. Find more info and tickets at forwardtheater.com. ALSO: Friday-Saturday (7:30 p.m.) and Sunday (2 p.m.), Nov. 5-7. Through Nov. 21.

Slow Pulp, Thursday, Nov. 4, Majestic, 8:30 p.m.: Former Madison quartet Slow Pulp generated plenty of buzz with the 2020 release Moveys, a record completed by the band remotely during the pandemic and one that absorbed some of the angst and unreality of those isolated days. Now, well over a year since the album’s release, Slow Pulp is finally taking Moveys on tour, and kicking off a month-plus on the road with a show in their old stomping grounds. It will be interesting to hear the songs come alive in concert. Opening are Chicago pop-rockers Girl K, who just released the catchy EP Girl K is For the People in September.

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 sprinkled throughout all the events.

Editor's note: This post has been updated to correct the dates for the UW Diversity Forum.