Our Critics Picks
THURSDAY 3/6
Music
THE BLACK HOLLIES
The last 20 years of modern music might as well never have happened as
far as The Black Hollies are concerned. What could be missing from a
song that can’t already be found on a Beatles record? There isn’t
anything new in The Black Hollies’ faintly psychedelic garage rock, but
the execution is flawless. From The Kinks to the Stones then over to
The Who, the British Invasion has been cryogenically frozen, preserved
and is still totally far-out. 9 p.m. at Springwater —MATT SULLIVAN
Springtime for Brezhnev
SEVEN DAYS TO REMEMBER
If not for the footage in this 1968 film, the world might’ve bought—or
at least had a hard time disproving—the Soviet Union’s claim that the
Soviet Army had been invited into Czechoslovakia to restore order
during the Prague Spring. Instead, a worldwide television audience of
more than 600 million people saw filmmaker Jan Nemec’s images of tanks
and bloody streets. Hard to think of a film that better illustrates the
stakes of emancipation—the theme of
this year’s Lenten Film Series. An interesting note: The film’s running
time is usually listed as 26 minutes, but series organizer Tom Wills
says his 16mm print runs 51 minutes. Eat that, Commies! The screening
is free, as is the meal that precedes it at 6 p.m. 7 p.m. at Downtown Presbyterian Church —JIM RIDLEY
House Organ
CHICKEN LIVER DAY
Get a new plate, Nate. Grab a big pan, Stan. Order meat-and-three,
Lee—just listen to me. Yes, there must be 50 ways to love your liver,
and one is surely fried over rice at Arnold’s, smothered in brown gravy
and accompanied by sides ranging from fried green tomatoes to the
diner’s ubiquitous beans and greens. Every Thursday is Chicken Liver
Day; go early or late if you want to avoid long lines for the
delectable little cholesterol bombs. Best of all, a plate costs less
than 7 bucks. 10:30 a.m.-3 p.m. at Arnold’s Country Kitchen
—JIM RIDLEY
FRIDAY 3/7
Zine and Heard
NASHVILLE FEMME BENEFIT
Much like musicians who return to outmoded mediums such as cassette
tapes to release their tunes, social activists Katie Zenger and Erin
Fagot are revisiting the cut-and-paste glory of zines to promote their
feminist ideals. With two issues of Nashville Femme in the can,
these Northeastern transplants have already covered issues ranging from
body image to the availability of Plan B, with a shout-out to Leonard
Nimoy for his photographic work with full-figured
ladies. The zine’s appeal lies in its inclusive, dispassionate tone—the
goal of which is to deconstruct the notion of feminism as a dirty word.
This benefit celebrates the third issue and profits go to The Magdalene
House (which works with former prostitutes and drug addicts), and
features performances from belly dancer Nazanin, burlesque troupe Miss
Lolly Pop and Music City Burlesque and—most promising—the Ms. Fits, an
all-female Misfits cover band. They got somethin’ to say, alright. 8 p.m. at The End —TRACY MOORE
Music
SONY HOLLAND CD RELEASE The title of Sony Holland’s new album Swing, Bossas, Ballads & Blues
pretty much says it all. A collection of delightfully rendered
standards and originals, the disc highlights the sultry jazz singer’s
strengths: a pure, supple voice and a gift for re-imagining familiar
tunes. (Case in point: her take on Paul Simon’s “50 Ways to Leave Your
Lover,” which morphs back and forth between a greasy New Orleans groove
and straight-up swing.) The former Nashvillian took off for the more
jazz-friendly environs of the Bay Area a few years back, so this is as
much a homecoming as a CD release. Holland’s husband Jerry, who wrote
eight of the album’s 16 tracks, accompanies on guitar. 7:30 p.m. at Bongo After Hours Theater —JACK SILVERMAN
Music
LADYSPEAK For
all the talk about misogyny in hip-hop—and there is plenty—there are
also plenty of female artists doing creative, empowering things within
the genre. This event, which the organizers hope will become a
semi-annual occurrence, seeks to showcase that diversity of female
voices. On the bill are Minneapolis MC Dessa, DJ Eticut, local rapper
and poet Oriana Lee and up-and-comer Lynnguistix. For information,
visit myspace.com/tennesseehiphop. 9 p.m. at The Rutledge —LEE STABERT
Capitol Comedy
BORN YESTERDAY
Garson Kanin’s 1946 play was made into a well-known 1950 film, directed
by George Cukor and starring Judy Holliday, who went on to win the
Oscar for her singular performance as the lovable tart Billie Dawn. The
story was re-filmed as recently as 1993 (with Melanie Griffith), but,
like many older stage comedies, it remains to be seen how well the
script holds up all these years later. ACT 1 takes the plunge with this
tale of a brutish, corrupt tycoon who strong-arms Capitol Hill
legislators while his neglected mistress learns some interesting civics
lessons from a hired—and quite charming—male mentor. March 7-15 at Darkhorse Theater —MARTIN BRADY
Talking Art
WATKINS ARTIST LECTURE SERIES
The kids at Watkins begin this knock-out program with a one-two punch.
Memphis artist Terri Jones will speak at a reception for her exhibit at
the college’s Brownlee O. Currey Jr. Gallery, where she will be showing
her latest series of drawings. Jones is known for her delicate
aesthetic sensibilities, and her art is as much about space and light
as it is about draftsmanship. Stick around for a screening of Silver Jew,
a documentary chronicling the Israeli leg of local musician David
Berman and his band’s latest tour. Producer Matthew Robison will answer
questions after the film. Berman himself will be reading his poetry at
the Series’ next event on Wednesday, March 12. Artist reception at 6 p.m.; lecture at 7 p.m.; Silver Jew screening at 8 p.m. at Watkins College of Art & Design —JOE NOLAN
Bandana-rama!
BRET MICHAELS’ ROCK OF LOVE TOUR This
week, Nashville boasts a myriad of events celebrating the female
spirit—the release of a feminist zine, a women-in-hip-hop
celebration—so it’s only fitting that the city also play host to
someone responsible for setting womankind back 50 years. Oh Bret
Michaels! Man of so many bandanas! So much love for breast implants! So
much skill at making out with multiple scantily clad connection-feeling
young ladies at the same time! Oh, and he used to be in Poison, too. 6 p.m. at Wildhorse Saloon —LEE STABERT
Music
SISTER W/MUGGABEARS & WIZARDS
Vintage threads store Local Honey dropped off the booking circuit when
the temperature dropped, but they’re back with an Infinity Cat party
featuring three noisy pop acts, two hailing from Brooklyn. Sisters are
a two-piece who rush to the noise-pop slaughter, while Muggabears slow
it down for the exquisite mangle. Also on the bill are local newbies
Wizardz, boasting members from jam-metalers JEFF and gleeful pop slop
maestros Meemaw. 6 p.m. at Local Honey —TRACY MOORE
Never a Bride
FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS Playwright Alan Ball has some notable credits, including creator/producer of the hit cable show Six Feet Under and author of the critically acclaimed and multi-award-winning screenplay for the film American Beauty.
Here he offers an irreverent take on an ostentatious wedding reception
at a large estate in Tennessee, where five reluctant, identically clad
bridesmaids sequester themselves in an upstairs bedroom, pondering the
proceedings going on below and also the nature of their friendships.
Corbin Green directs. March 7-April 5 at The Factory at Franklin
—MARTIN BRADY
Pot o‘ Gold
EL RICK HAUN
When Travis Nicholson first started writing songs about leprechauns, it
was just to annoy his best friend. El Rick Haun—the mouthpiece for
those green-themed tunes—was formed as a St. Patrick’s Day stunt, but
audiences soon discovered that the music was more than a novelty. After
releasing an EP last year, the band began work on a self-titled full
length. The record is a pot of gold filled to the brim with songs about
dragon-seeking squires, overly self-important scrolls and bearded
little ladies, and it features a guest appearance by Lisa Loeb on the
track “Little Buckled Shoes,” a duet proving that even leprechauns get
nostalgic about failed relationships. The show will celebrate the CD
release, but unfortunately the discs didn’t make it back from the press
in time, so instead the group will have 25 limited-edition copies on
hand with the rest due to arrive—when else?—on St. Patrick’s Day. 9 p.m. at The Basement
—ERIC WILLIAMS
Mark Newton
Music
MARK NEWTON BAND “Nobody works harder than Mark Newton,” says Carl Jackson, who produced the former’s stellar Hillbilly Hemingway—an
artistic breakthrough for the veteran bluegrasser that, in a better
world, would have made everyone’s Top 10 list when it came out in 2006.
That perseverance—along with an expressive voice and an increasingly
refined ear for the right song—has served Newton well, carrying him
through another round of seemingly inevitable band changes. Tonight’s
lineup is anchored by reliable, sweet-voiced Beth Lawrence (bass), and
showcases new singer/guitarist Dave Denman, a onetime member of Alison
Krauss’s Union Station, along with melodic banjo whiz Tony Wray, late
of the John Cowan Band. New faces, same good stuff. 9 p.m. at Station Inn —JON WEISBERGER
Music
SARAH BORGES & THE BROKEN SINGLES
The retro-coiffed black-and-white performance segments of Borges’ new
“Stop and Think It Over” video suggest some affinities between the
Boston-based singer and another twenty-something who revives girl group
sass. But as the rest of last year’s Diamonds in the Dark—Borges’
second album and first for Sugar Hill—shows, a thorough
Winehouse-Borges comparison doesn’t really fly. Borges—and the
playfully aggressive trio partially recruited from her boyfriend Jake
Brennan’s, band—skew less toward R&B and more towards vintage
country and X-inspired punk. (Incidentally, Diamonds features a
cover of X’s “Come Back to Me,” and John Doe occasionally joins Borges
onstage, as he did during her showcase at the Basement last year.) Call
it what you will—the band jokingly coined it “Cambridge no-wave
hard-honk”—it’s a lot of fun live. 7 p.m. at 3rd & Lindsley —JEWLY HIGHT
Jesse Malin
Music
JESSE MALIN W/DE NOVO DAHL Jesse
Malin is so good at synthesizing his influences that it’s sometimes a
detriment. Borrowing elements from buddy Ryan Adams’ boozy alt-country,
Bruce Springsteen’s grandiose, anthemic everyman rock and any number of
other New York City trends of the past 20 years, Malin’s songs
oscillate from helplessly catchy to hopelessly forgettable. But the
good ones are worth the weeding—“Brooklyn”’s subtext that a move across
the river to another borough might as well be a move across the sea is
a pitch-perfect portrait of emotional devastation masquerading as
rationality. Opening up are local indie poppers De Novo Dahl, who are
gearing up for the release of their Roadrunner Records debut. 9 p.m. at Mercy Lounge —LEE STABERT
Bryan Scary & The Shredding Tears
SATURDAY 3/8
Music
BRYAN SCARY & THE SHREDDING TEARS W/THE GLIB
There’s an exuberance to the psychedelic pop of Brooklyn singer,
songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Bryan Scary that invites
comparisons to Electric Light Orchestra and Sgt. Pepper-era
Beatles. Scary honors his influences from across the pop galaxy, but
there is a certain lost-at-the-circus paranoia that cuts through the
lush, intricate arrangements and sends them off on wild, surprising
tangents right when you think you’ve managed to pin them down.
Nashville’s own The Glib share the headline, serving up nervy,
idiosyncratic and elaborately percussive rock ’n’ roll. They’ll chase
Scary’s precocious weirdness nicely, and offer the audience a chance to
tap their toes and nod their heads without fear of suddenly losing the
beat during a bravura rhythm shift. Philly electro-rockers
Innerpartysystem open. 8 p.m. at The Rutledge —CODY DE VOS
Ernest Lawson, "Washington Square"
Art
PAINTERS OF AMERICAN LIFE: THE EIGHT
Rebelling against academic standards, The Eight turned away from the
romanticized landscapes and scenes of leisure that were staple subjects
of early 20th century
American art to depict the grit and grime of urban life. Arthur B.
Davies, William Glackens, Robert Henri, Ernest Lawson, George Luks,
Maurice Prendergast, Everett Shinn and John Sloan—later dubbed the
Ashcan School for their muddy palate and raw depictions—helped changed
the direction of American art, challenging the stiff and labored
painting techniques of the academy in favor of a fast, informal style.
Dissatisfied with stuffy exhibition venues, the group also showed
independently. Cheekwood hosts a retrospective of their work on the 100th anniversary of their landmark 1908 exhibition in New York. March 7-June 15 at Cheekwood Botanical Gardens & Museum of Art —MATT CHRISTY
Music
FEDORA BROTHERS
Like many of the vintage rural acts whose legacy they draw on, the
Fedora Brothers aren’t, despite the name, actually related. Instead,
Gene “Geno” Bush and Bruce “Zeno” Nemerov are longtime favorites of
rural music cognoscenti, playing mostly fingerpicked country
blues-style guitar. The Brothers also serve to remind listeners that
the legacies of black and white rural musicians of the ’20s and ’30s
are inextricably intertwined—and without any glossing over of the harsh
social realities, as Nemerov’s Grammy-winning notes to Recording Black Culture
make clear. Add in the inevitable impromptu guest appearance—insider
money is on Nashville Bluegrass Band’s Pat Enright this time out—and it
all makes for a delightful evening. 8 p.m. at Norm’s River Road House
—JON WEISBERGER
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The Explorers Club
Music
THE EXPLORERS CLUB It’s winter, you’re landlocked, and your plans for a Heroes-filled hibernation
were totally ruined by the writers’ strike. You’re cold, bored and
desperate for the warm glow of the sun on a sandy beach. You want to
frolic with the beautiful people, down beers and play beach blanket
bingo—but you are shit out of luck. Your best chance is to catch
Charleston, S.C., band Explorers Club, valedictorians from the Brian
Wilson/Phil Spector school of hook-laden, harmony-drenched pop. 9 p.m. at Mercy Lounge —SEAN L. MALONEY
Egg-citing Diversions
VICTORIAN EASTER EGG HUNT
Hippity hop, hippity hop. That’s not the sound of the Easter Bunny on
his way, it’s the dashing of moms to buy lacy dresses and bonnets for
the egg hunt at Belle Meade Plantation. The free morning will include
crafts, croquet and other genteel activities on the lawn of the Greek
Revival mansion. Bring a basket to gather up the goods and a camera to
snap your kids with the bunny. Bonnets optional. 10 a.m. to noon at Belle Meade Plantation —CARRINGTON FOX
SUNDAY 3/9
Matt Costa
Music
MATT COSTA W/JONATHAN RICE
A pair of recent arrivals on the singer-songwriter scene, Costa and
Rice both released their second albums last year, staking out territory
in different stylistic neighborhoods of midtown. Matt Costa inhabits a
sunny, slightly fussy place painted in bright, winsome melodies that
melt away like a sunset into the horizon. The former skateboarder and
Jack Johnson protégé is an oft-distressed patron of love’s corridors—so
much that you wonder how he has time for anything else. That Costa grew
up in California and Rice on the opposite coast helps explain Rice’s
grittier, somewhat shambling style. His music has a folky, airy bent
that favors shuffling arrangements, rootsy sounds, a hint of warm, ’70s
soft rock production and a penchant for ambling prose reminiscent of a
less overwrought Bright Eyes. 8 p.m. at 3rd & Lindsley —CHRIS PARKER
Hitchcock: The People’s Choice
BELCOURT STAFF PICKS: ROPE
For the next two months, the Belcourt’s staff seizes control of the
projectors and screens whatever the hell they want, whether it’s goofy
cult movies, ultra-rare oddities, childhood favorites or certified
screen classics—such as Alfred Hitchcock’s 1948 experiment in
simulating one continuous feature-length take, chosen by front-lobby
fixture Ben Smythe. See the whole schedule at belcourt.org—it’s
awesome. Noon March 8-9 at the Belcourt Theatre —JIM RIDLEY
Femme Film Fest
LUNAFEST: SHORT FILMS BY, FOR, ABOUT WOMEN
Gathering live-action and animated shorts from as far afield as France,
South Korea, Iceland and South Africa, this film series packaged by the
makers of Luna nutrition bars tours the country raising money for local
charities and national breast-cancer research. Nashville’s recipient
will be The Kaylen Foundation (kaylenfoundation.org), which helps
families whose children face long stays at the Children’s Hospital at
Vanderbilt. Get a goodie bag and a chair massage, watch some cool
movies and make somebody’s life a little better. Tickets are $15 or $20
for VIP seats, available from Pickles and Ice Cream (539 Cool Springs
Blvd., Franklin) or at the door. For information, visit lunafest.org. 4:30 p.m. reception and silent auction; 6 p.m. screening at Children’s Theatre in Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt —JIM RIDLEY
MONDAY 3/10
Music
BLACK HORSE W/LOZEN
Nashville tends to attract a hefty number of up-and-coming touring
bands throughout the month of March as vans crisscross the state on
their way to and from Austin, Texas, for SXSW. Springwater seems to
have benefited most from the increased traffic, hosting a couple of
heavy, fuzzed out duos from opposite corners of the country. On one end
is New Jersey’s Black Horse, with their dense wall of guitars and drum
machines—imagine Big Black after a long night of boozin’.
Washington-based female two-piece Lozen don’t dabble in Black Horse’s
short blasts, instead favoring long excursions into slithering
near-metal. 9 p.m. at Springwater —MATT SULLIVAN
He Reports, You Decide
CONTROL ROOM
One hero of Jehane Noujaim’s first-rate 2004 documentary, a
behind-the-scenes look inside the Al-Jazeera newsroom in the early days
of Operation Iraqi Freedom, is then U.S. Marine Lt. Josh Rushing—the
press officer at U.S. Central Command in Qatar, who comes across as a
voice of truth and moderation in the thick of the spin zone. See the
film tonight, then return to Sarratt at 7 p.m. on Tuesday for Rushing’s
lecture on “The Art of Selling War.” Both the film and lecture are free
and open to the public; a Q&A and book signing will follow
Rushing’s talk. 7 p.m. at Vanderbilt’s Sarratt Cinema —JIM RIDLEY
There Will Be Blood
Derrick Brown
If anyone can make poetry cool again, it’s Derrick Brown. This week,
his Nashville-based publishing company Write Bloody is celebrating the
release of its latest poetry anthology The Last Valentine. A former paratrooper, gondolier, magician and—the ultimate apprenticeship for a budding poet—weatherman, he’s appeared on Leno, and was an opening act for most of Cold War Kids’ 2007 tour. (Write Bloody recently released What It Is: What It Is,
a book of art and prose by photographer/CWK bassist Maust and writer
Paul Maziar.) The release party features readings by Brown (who’s also
a member of local band Spring Hill Spider Party) and Anis Mojgani, as
well as music from Talking With Hands. 8 p.m. at (fov) studio in the Arcade —JACK SILVERMAN
TUESDAY 3/11
Theater
CAMELOT More than 20 years after achieving stardom in the film La Bamba,
Lou Diamond Phillips has branched out in his showbiz pursuits. He
continues to find occasional roles in film and TV, he’s directed some,
he teaches, and he’s found success on the stage, including a Tony
nomination for The King and I in 1996. Now he’s heading up this
road-show cast of 25 as King Arthur in Lerner & Loewe’s popular
1960 musical based on T. H. White’s novel The Once and Future King. As the older crowd will remember, this version of the Knights of the Round Table is quite different than Monty Python’s Spamalot.
It’s certainly not as funny, but the songs—“If Ever I Would Leave You,”
“How to Handle a Woman,” the noted title number—are inspirational
classics, and the elegant love-triangle story has both intellectual and
romantic appeal. March 11-16 at TPAC’s Jackson Hall —MARTIN BRADY
Music
THE DONNAS
Equal parts Kiss and The Ramones, hairspray and dick jokes, The Donnas
play dude rock for bad girls—you know, the kind who sneak out at
slumber parties, chase boys, tie one on most nights and fuck and run,
unapologetically. It’s a thrill ride that references everything from
Joan Jett to Def Leppard along the way. 2002’s Spend the Night
worked it, flaunted it and spit it right back in your face: gems such
as “Take It Off” were the perfect anthems to turn the male gaze on it’s
tight dirty-denim ass. 2004’s Gold Medal stayed young and reckless. Alas, subsequent records (i.e., 2007’s Bitchin’) have merely rehashed that glory without the gusto, and exposed the pitfalls in trying to grow up while staying raw. Too bad. 8 p.m. at Exit/In —TRACY MOORE
WEDNESDAY 3/12
Music
HORRORPOPS W/THE PINK SPIDERS
Like blue jeans, tattoos and leather jackets, some styles never die.
Rockabilly and punk are the rural and urban expressions of the same
musical defiance, finding their first union in The Cramps, who added
kitschy B-movie horror imagery, cementing the psychobilly genre. Dutch
trio Horrorpops work both ends of the psychobilly spectrum, from
bustling pop-punk to hot-footed twang. Their latest, Kiss Kiss Kill Kill,
has a pulpy swagger epitomized by tracks like “Hitchcock Starlet” and
“Thelma & Louise.” Opening are color-coded local power punkers The
Pink Spiders, who are prepping for the release of their third album, Sweat It Out. 7 p.m. at Rocketown —CHRIS PARKER
Culture Clash
ROGER SHIMOMURA
Inspired by the diaries of his immigrant grandmother, and by his own
experiences as a boy in World War II Japanese internment camps in
Washington state and Idaho, Roger Shimomura has amassed a formidable
body of work over more than four decades—paintings, prints, mixed-media
sculptures and experimental theater pieces that address stereotypes,
discrimination and other aspects of the Asian American experience.
(He’s also an avid collector of Walt Disney comics, salt and pepper shakers
with clichéd depictions of “Orientals,” envelopes with misspellings of
his last name and photographs of Asian men for whom he’s been
mistaken.) Shimomura will present a multimedia program/lecture,
including an overview of his oeuvre and a discussion of the
sociopolitical context that gave rise to its creation. 7 p.m. in Vanderbilt’s Wilson Hall,
Room 103 —JACK SILVERMAN
The Armies of the Night
HIJOS DE LA GUERRA
The spawn of El Salvador’s civil war, the Mara Salvatrucha (MS-13) may
be the world’s biggest and deadliest street gang, boasting 100,000
members throughout the U.S. and Central America. In this award-winning
documentary debut, still photographer Alexandre Fuchs and co-directors
Samantha Belmont and Jeremy Fourteau assemble inside interviews and
shocking footage to trace the gang’s violent rise to power. The film
screens as part of Vanderbilt’s International Lens series, free and
open to the public, with discussion to follow. 7 p.m. at Vanderbilt’s Sarratt Cinema —JIM RIDLEY
Toubab Krewe
Music
TOUBAB KREWE
Cooking up granola-ready grooves with a world beat bent, this
instrumental Asheville, N.C., quintet fashions richly imagined
arrangements that transcend the typical self-indulgent,
they’re-stoned-and-will-dance-to-anything jam band vibe. Formed in
2005, Toubab Krewe aren’t just dilettantes—they’ve made several trips
to West Africa, where they played with native Mali musicians. Their
bubbling Afro-pop style is gilded to insistent dub-inflected rhythms.
It’s an inviting blend of familiar and exotic, with a surprisingly deft
melodic sensibility that prevents the tracks from sinking into
wheel-spinning demonstrations of instrumental prowess. 9 p.m. at Mercy Lounge —CHRIS PARKER