Our Critics' Picks

THURSDAY1/17

Music

YO LA TENGOYo La Tengo have managed to survive—indeed thrive—throughout a three-decades-long career in a fickle musical climate. Shuffling their way through shoegaze, grunge, Britpop, post-punk and half a million spurious scenes in between, they have nonetheless remained the same doggedly left-of-center, beloved band since their inception. The Freewheeling Yo La Tengo Tour stops at The Belcourt with Kurt Wagner of Lambchop in tow for what looks to be an intimate acoustic-based show—part VH1 Storytellers, part MTV Unplugged and likely far more engaging than anything either of those networks have to offer. If you couldn’t get tickets to see them there, hang out at Prince’s—their affinity for the famous hot chicken is well known. 8 p.m. at Belcourt Theatre; SOLD OUT—ANDREW J. SMITHSON

Funny Business

THAT’S ALL FOLKS! THE HISTORY AND TRIVIA BEHIND LOONEY TUNES CARTOONSIf you remember art history class as a chance to snooze in the dark and get college credit for it, you haven’t met Gregory Clark, professor of Art History at the University of the South in Sewanee. Clark’s presentation will trace the artistic development of Looney Tunes director Chuck Jones, focusing on five classic cartoons, including the 1957 masterpiece “What’s Opera Doc,” a.k.a. the one where Elmer sings “Kill the Wabbit,” in a parody of Wagner’s music drama The Valkyrie. He will also explore the characters Pepe le Pew, the Road Runner and Wile E. Coyote, all of whom Jones created with Mike Maltese. Clark’s lecture promises to be more fun than getting blown up with dynamite and smacked in the head by an anvil. 2 to 4 p.m. at the Downtown Library —CARRINGTON FOX

Music

NAILBAT TAPESLet’s face it: $400 iPods aren’t very punk rock, CDs won’t last 10 seconds in the floorboard of your car without getting scratched and, even if you could play records in your car, a hot summer day would warp them beyond recognition. Keeping that in mind, it doesn’t seem quite so wacky that Nashville’s newest indie label specializes exclusively in cassette tapes. Nailbat Tapes is throwing a launch party Thursday night featuring just a sampling of an already impressive roster. Members of the frenetic sludgecore duo German Castro operate the label, and will be performing alongside punk-rock house-party heros Meemaw, making a rare appearance outside of their basement. Rounding out the bill is the whispery, sultry folk of Another Side of Bob Jasmin and the metalocalyptic assault of Murfreesboro noisecore enthusiasts Evil Bebos. 9 p.m. at The End—SETH GRAVES

Theater

HAMLET In its inaugural effort as a professional company in residence at Belmont University, the Nashville Shakespeare Festival presents a production that brings together the talents and energies of individuals from across the spectrum of Nashville’s theater community. The creative team comprises Tony Award-winning costume designer Franne Lee, Belmont theater department chair and set designer Paul Gatrell and veteran lighting designer and MTSU prof Anne Willingham. Meanwhile, director Denice Hicks vows judicious editing and maximum poetic impact in her approach to the tale of the melancholy Dane, and she’s assembled an intriguing cast to help fulfill her goal of accenting the play’s ghostly ambience and bringing Hamlet’s character into starker relief. For more information on workshops, in-school performances, etc., call 255-2273 or visit nashvilleshakes.org. Jan. 17-Feb. 2 in Belmont’s Troutt Theater —MARTINBRADY

Music

GO JANE GO Music City is home to just about every kind of tunage under the sun, and our local pop scene just got a bit brighter. Local photographer Kristy West’s new project Go Jane Go plays crisp, pretty indie pop filled with catchy choruses and just enough coy rock swagger. Formerly of local all-girl group Ruby Rocket, West has a controlled, effortless voice—perfect for pop—that occasionally acquires a hint of lilting twang. This show celebrates the release of the band’s taught, infectious debut See Jane Go. 9 p.m. at the Basement —LEE STABERT

FRIDAY1/18

Renaissance Man

AARON DOUGLAS: AFRICAN AMERICAN MODERNIST Arriving in Harlem in the mid-1920s, Aaron Douglas became an integral member of the Harlem Renaissance, creating book jackets for the likes of James Weldon Johnson and Claude McKay and designing posters and sets for the dramatic ensemble founded by W.E.B. DuBois. He also illustrated covers for Vanity Fair and African American publications such as Fire! and NAACP journals. Today, Douglas is perhaps more widely known for the silhouetted figures of his murals—examples of which can be seen on the Fisk campus, where Douglas was head of the art department from 1937-1966. All types of his work, which combines elements of cubism, Art Deco and references to African American traditions, will be on display in Aaron Douglas: African American Modernist. An opening reception featuring the Fisk Jubilee Singers takes place 7 p.m. Jan. 18; related events include gallery talks and guided tours of the Fisk murals. Jan. 18-April 13 at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts —MICHELLE JONES