Our Critics Picks
PHOTO: MONIQUE DE LA TOUR
A highly respected poet and spoken-word artist, Sekou Sundiata travels easily between musical and theatrical realms. His diverse résumé includes Def Poetry Jam on HBO, touring dates with Ani DiFranco, and the CDs The Blue Oneness of Dreams and longstoryshort, on which his sultry yet commanding voice delivers evocative verse above musical tracks featuring top-flight jazz musicians. But the real story here is about Sundiata’s battle against kidney disease, which first afflicted him 10 years ago and resulted in transplant surgery in 1999, followed by a difficult lengthy recovery during which he also broke his neck in a car accident. These personal crucibles inform Blessing the Boats, a one-man show in which the rejuvenated Sundiata explores mortality, friendship, love, despair and hope in a sequence of poems and monologues that touch a variety of performance styles, including stand-up comedy and literary reading. His words are backed by a lean mix of sound, lighting and video enhancements that frame the artist’s frank and unsentimental narrative concerning his “exile from the self I had come to know.” Vanderbilt’s Great Performances series hosts Sundiata’s rare Nashville appearance, at 8 p.m. on Nov. 30 at Belmont University’s Curb Event Center. He’ll also appear 6-8 p.m. Nov. 29 at Zeitgeist Gallery, as part of Great Performances’ “Performance on the Move” program, which is free and open to the public. For tickets to the Nov. 30 show, call 255-9600. —MARTIN BRADY
Music
Friday 25th
TOM HAMBRIDGE This genre-hopping drummer, songwriter and producer has worked with artists ranging from Susan Tedeschi and Johnny Winter to Norah Jones and the country duo Van Zant. As a solo artist, the common denominator on his new Bang n’ Roll, though, is a feel for three-chord rock progressions with blatant hooks, on-cue riffs and insistent choruses hammered home by heavy backbeats. The 13 cuts on the album are remarkably varied, mainly because Hambridge takes on different singing personas and surrounds each song with distinct production styles, all of them familiar. There’s something, for example, of the Byrds doing Dylan in the “The Best Thing I Never Had,” a yearning post-breakup ballad with ascending, interwoven guitar lines. “Wrong Side of the Tracks,” by contrast, taps the bad-boy rock-’n’-boogie of his friends Johnny Lang and George Thorogood. (www.tomhambridge.com) 3rd & Lindsley —BILL LEVINE
Saturday, 26th
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CHRIS MILLS & THE NEW MISERABLE BASTARDS This indie songwriter from Chicago may sound tongue-in-cheek when he opens his new album with a song titled “Chris Mills Is Living the Dreaming,” but he means it. Recorded with a 17-piece orchestra live in the studio without overdubs, Mills’ new disc, The Wall to Wall Sessions, is a fantasy come true. He uses the big band to create gorgeous, straight-ahead adult pop buoyed by gorgeous arrangements and voluptuous rock melodies that merge Neil Diamond with Neutral Milk Hotel. It’s an ambitious project, yet Mills’ songs and sincerity prove up to the task. Live, he’ll approximate the big sound with an ace band of underground veterans. (www.chris-mills.com) 5 Spot —MICHAEL McCALL
Tuesday, 29th
SOUND TEAM Originally a four-track project between Houston singer-guitarist Matt Oliver and Austin bassist Bill Baird, Sound Team originally attempted some half-baked Mellow Gold. The duo’s sound remained unfocused until Oliver moved to Austin and a string of self-released cassettes revealed that the team was tightening up and experimenting with its sound. Retaining their hook-laden pop base, they also drew on Krautrock’s sense of pulse, texture and noise. They built their own studio and expanded to a six-person lineup replete with electric piano, Moog and Rhodes, imbuing their music with a spry melodic verdancy. The Austin press often compare them to members of the Elephant 6 collective, but Sound Team’s emotional scope and dramatic release have made them worthy openers for The Walkmen and the Arcade Fire, too. Earlier this year, the band signed a deal with Capitol and started recording with engineer Mike McCarthy (Spoon, Trail of Dead). (www.soundteam.net) The Basement —ANDY BETA
TEGAN & SARA Since their debut five years ago, these identical twins have excelled at merging the intimacy of acoustic folk music with the melodic immediacy of rock, all of it driven by their smart lyrics and offbeat harmonies. Clever rather than introspective, the shag-cut Canadians have been remarkably consistent on their last two albums, 2004’s So Jealous and 2002’s If It Was You, both of which match exuberant, economical dance rock with haunting ballads that address heartbreak without being maudlin. Their single, “Speak Slow,” is one of the year’s great pop pleasures; live, their cute-yet-bookish stage personas and tight band further animate their bright, hooky songs. (www.teganandsara.com) Exit/In —MICHAEL McCALL
CHELLE ROSE To say that Rose creates acoustic folk-rock wouldn’t capture the fire or emotional release in her driving arrangements and unflinching lyrics. The singer-songwriter took nearly a year off to have a baby, but she’s returned to performing with enterprising fortitude, appearing regularly in recent weeks to introduce new material and light a fire under familiar tunes. A resident of Nashville and a dedicated supporter of the local music community, Rose is a mountain-raised East Tennessean with a big voice who, instead of playing country-rock, rocks like only a country gal can. (www.chellerose.com) Family Wash —MICHAEL McCALL
Wednesday, 30th
STACY MITCHHART AND BLUES-U-CAN-USE Fans of Nashville’s tightest blues ensemble—which also happens to be the house band at Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie Bar—can now relive the experience of being at a full-blast performance on Mitchhart’s new DVD-CD, Live! In Concert. Recorded at a Tunica casino earlier this year, the nine members of Blues-U-Can-Use stretch out, win over the large crowd and show their versatility on the big stage. The supplemental clips on the DVD document Mitchhart’s career going back to 1979, and it’s easy to see how over time he’s fashioned all forms of the contemporary and revivalist blues into a well-honed show. A native of Cincinnati, he earned his Southern stripes through years of working his large combos into shape, writing soulful and boogie-fueled tunes and always returning to blues essentials. His songs revolve around simple, basic stories of betrayal, confrontation and remorse, and he’s at his best when his guitar solos have space to breathe. When he works in an amped-up Delta mode, he’s at ease strumming a thick rhythmic intro and sliding up the melody, his tenor man Michael McDaniel switching over to blues harp to cover his back. (www.stacymitchhart.com) Bourbon St. Blues & Boogie Bar —BILL LEVINE
RANDY KOHRS BAND It’s tough to be a busy sideman and build a solo career, but Dobro player Randy Kohrs has good reason to pursue both. A studio and stage veteran who’s appeared on Music Row hits and toured with bluegrass and country stars, he’s a strong vocalist and has a musical vision of his own. Though Kohrs has recorded both straight-ahead ’grass and honky-tonk, his third album, I’m Torn, favors a contemporary, country-flavored kind of ’grass that emphasizes a keen appreciation for distinctive melodies, both in his solos and in his original songs. Not surprisingly, the lineup for a band fronted by a dual careerist is better thought of as a pool of personnel, but Kohrs draws on the best, and his showcases at the recent IBMA convention were impressive displays. (www.randykohrs.net) Station Inn —JON WEISBERGER
Dance
THE GREAT RUSSIAN NUTCRACKER Now in the midst of its 13th consecutive tour, this holiday extravaganza from the Moscow Ballet features hundreds of lavish costumes; larger-than-life puppets; 50 Russian dance artists under the direction of choreographer Anatoly Emelianov; and colorful hand-painted sets designed by Valentin Fedorov, whose backdrops are rendered in a collage technique inspired by European naive artists. This acclaimed version of Tchaikovsky’s timeless masterwork stands out among others, with its unique recasting of the setting into the “Land of Peace and Harmony” and the addition of a new thematic character—an ethereal dove that appears in the young heroine Masha’s dreamscape. Audiences will also experience an insider’s view of the enigmatic Drosselmeier’s workshop and his creation of magical Christmas gifts. (The workshop tableau includes a variety of 19th century toy-making equipment.) The cast of world-class dancers will be complemented by local children performing ancillary roles such as snowflakes and angels. The performances are at 3 and 6:30 p.m. on Nov. 27 at the BellSouth Acuff Theater. For tickets, phone 255-9600. —MARTIN BRADY
Theater
THE SANTALAND DIARIES If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it. Or at least don’t do anything more than tinker with the casting. For at least the fourth time in recent years, Tennessee Repertory Theatre offers this anti-heroic holiday piece based on the writings of essayist/humorist David Sedaris. Rep artistic director David Alford, who first created (then re-created) the role of Crumpet the Elf for local audiences, steps in as director this time, guiding the one-man performance of Matt Chiorini, a skilled actor whose penchant for finding unexpected humor in the experimental productions of his own People’s Branch Theatre should serve him well here. Presented Nov. 25-Dec. 17 at TPAC’s Johnson Theater. Phone 255-ARTS for tickets. —MARTIN BRADY
Books
LOUISE LeQUIRE Nashville artist LeQuire is uniquely qualified to write a children’s book about the Athena statue inside the Parthenon: her son, Alan, was the sculptor. It took the younger LeQuire nearly a decade to build the full-scale re-creation of the Athena Parthenos statue that once stood on the site of Greek Acropolis. During that time, until its completion in 1990, Louise LeQuire paid frequent visits to see how the massive project was coming, often with her grandchildren in tow. It was their questions about the statue that inspired her to write a children’s book about it. The result is Athena Smiles, in which a young girl learns about the ancient Greek rituals that surrounded the Greek goddess and her towering likeness in the Parthenon. The author/illustrator will sign copies of her book this Saturday, 10 a.m. to noon, at LeQuire Gallery, which is owned by son Alan. She’ll have another signing at The Parthenon, 10 a.m.-noon Dec. 3. —JONATHAN MARX
HOLIDAY ARTS MARKET The day after Thanksgiving is supposed to be the busiest shopping day of the year, and The Arts Company will be open and ready. Last weekend, the gallery opened its show featuring LIFE photographer John Loengard, and other artists with work currently on view include Lekhleti, April Street and Anne Goetze—but there’ll be a wide range of affordable arty gift ideas, from fine art posters to work by artisans from the town of San Miguel, Mexico. The Holiday Arts Market opens Nov. 25 and runs through Dec. 31; hours are 10 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat. —JONATHAN MARX
Art
“DEGREES OF SEPARATION: ART FROM ROOM IN THE INN” For the last two decades, Room in the Inn has provided shelter, food and companionship to the city’s homeless population. Just as vital are the classes that Room in the Inn makes available through its Campus for Human Development, which gives homeless Nashvillians a chance to expand their lives through educational and creative endeavors. It was in these classes that the works in “Degrees of Separation” were created; the exhibit features 100 works in a variety of media, and though the range of ability and expression varies greatly, they’re all bound by one common trait: they affirm that no matter how much we may choose to overlook or ignore the homeless in our midst, these people are anything but invisible. Indeed, the paintings, drawings and sketches in this show reveal just how sensitively and uniquely every person may engage the world, no matter what circumstances he or she may be in. Some of the works will be for sale, with all proceeds going to fund programs at Room in the Inn. The show opens 6-9 p.m. this Monday, Nov. 28, at Crystalwood Gallery, 615 Houston St. (near Greer Stadium), with music by Three Ring Circle, featuring Rob Ickes, Andy Leftwich and Dave Pomeroy. After its run at Crystalwood Gallery, the exhibit will travel to different locations around town. For more information, call 385-3191. —JONATHAN MARX
Film
THE UNTOLD STORY OF EMMETT LOUIS TILL Less a movie than an act of public service, Keith Beauchamp’s documentary was powerful enough to reopen one of the sickest, foulest closed cases in American history: the grisly 1955 torture and murder of Emmett Till, a black 14-year-old boy slaughtered by bigots for allegedly wolf-whistling at a white Mississippi woman. Though a sham trial acquitted two of the killers, Beauchamp’s nine years of investigation produced enough evidence to stir the interest of the Justice Department; it also raised even more troubling issues about the 50-year-old case—like the knowledge that some of the 14 conspirators were themselves African American. The film opens Friday at the Belcourt. —JIM RIDLEY
“OF AGE” In this locally shot film by writer-director Charlie Corts, a senior (Timothy Cole) at an all-boys Catholic high school strikes up a hot ’n’ heavy relationship with a 15-year-old girl who seems to have nothing in common. The half-hour film has its premiere 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Belcourt; to see the trailer, check out www.nashvegasfilms.com. —JIM RIDLEY
THE ICE HARVEST Crooked lawyer John Cusack gets the brilliant idea to fleece the Kansas City mob for a cool bundle, which gets even colder when an ice storm strands him in town with his pursuers. Novelist Richard Russo and screenwriter Robert Benton (who collaborated on the film version of Russo’s Nobody’s Fool) co-wrote this dark comic caper, a change of pace for Groundhog Day director Harold Ramis. Opening Wednesday. —JIM RIDLEY
THE BIG SLEEP / THE LONG GOODBYE Farewell, my lovely, to the Sarratt Cinema’s fall schedule with this impressive double feature of screwy Raymond Chandler adaptations. Humphrey Bogart plays shamus Philip Marlowe in Howard Hawks’ 1946 The Big Sleep, a crackling private-eye yarn so convoluted that not even Chandler could unravel who committed one of the killings; in Robert Altman’s marvelous 1973 version of The Long Goodbye, Marlowe is shaggy, shambling Elliott Gould, let loose in Los Angeles in the thick of the Me Decade. The movies play Tuesday night only. —JIM RIDLEY
RENT You have the original cast soundtrack with Jonathan Larson’s songs, the T-shirt, the coffee mug, the key ring, the dog tags and the “Moo With Me” plush cow. Now see the movie version of the musical that inspired the merchandise, featuring much of the Broadway cast: Taye Diggs, Idina Menzel, Anthony Rapp, Jesse L. Martin and Wilson Jermaine Heredia. Chris Columbus (Home Alone) directed. The movie squats in local theaters Wednesday. —JIM RIDLEY