THURS/3.11

[A CHEEKY RECEPTION] QUADRUPLE ART OPENING

Enjoy art openings? Well, you can hit four of them in one pop at Cheekwood tonight, as a reception kicks off a diverse quartet of exhibits. The main museum will show a collection of American Impressionist paintings and sculptures depicting gardens from Europe to New Mexico — a subject sure to harmonize with Cheekwood's closely tended grounds. The courtyard gallery will explore abstract art by 20th century American artists including Joseph Albers, Robert Ryman and Lee Krasner. Fast-forwarding to the present, the installation galleries will house Soaps, Flukes & Follies, gathering playful works by six artists from around the U.S. And finally, Nashville native Virginia Overton finds poetry in the mundane, returning from New York to present an exhibit in which "everyday objects become ethereal forms." Opening reception 6-8 p.m. at Cheekwood. Exhibits on display through the summer RUSSELL JOHNSTON

[BROTHERS AND SISTERS] THE VESPERS CD RELEASE

It may seem terribly convenient for an indie-folk quartet with sepia-toned, sweetly sentimental sensibilities to be made up of two pairs of siblings, but in the case of The Vespers, it happens to be fact. The singing, strumming Cryar Sisters, Callie and Phoebe — who, in addition to stringed instruments, also play piano and accordion when a song calls for it — teamed up with the Jones Brothers — Bruno, the upright bassist, and Taylor, the drummer — last year. Not one of them is old enough to buy a beer, but they're releasing their debut album, Tell Your Mama, which they, and they alone, wrote, played on and produced. Unlike Etta James' big-talking R&B number "Tell Mama," The Vespers' title track has an austere urgency, thanks to the melody's minor-key, Appalachian tinge, the Cryars' extremely fetching and sympathetic harmonies and the lyrics' reassurance that they're following in the upright family way. 7:30 p.m. at The Belcourt JEWLY HIGHT

[Soul in Your Birdhouse] THE BIRDHOUSE THING

For your next real estate investment, consider something a bit scaled-back, yet guaranteed to appreciate in value. Every year the W.O. Smith Music School invites a cross-section of civic luminaries — including many of the city's finest artists — to create 150 boldly designed and decorated birdhouses, on which the public is invited to bid. If you never thought you could afford an original Paul Harmon — or an original Barbara Mandrell, for that matter — that kind of talk is for the birds. Show up, look around and dine on delectables from notable Nashville caterers (a partial list includes Bongo Java, Dulce Desserts, Sweet 16th, TomKats and Yum!). In addition, an online Celebrity Auction at www.opryauction.com features items from Kenny Chesney, Rascal Flatts, Brad Paisley and many more, with bidding set to close March 23. Tickets are $40; for more information, call 255-8355. 5:30-8 p.m. at W.O. Smith Music School, 1125 Eighth Ave. S. JIM RIDLEY

[BETTER THAN ANOTHER WYCLEF SOLO RECORD] HAITI, UNITED FEAT. KIDSMEAL & THE BILLY GOATS

While there may be newer, hipper, sexier earthquake disasters in the world today, Haiti still needs your help. In fact, now that the news cycle has moved beyond the all-Haiti-all-the-time disaster porn — first to the Olympics and now into some bizarre obsession with the idiosyncrasies in our federal government's parliamentary procedure — the people of Haiti need your help more than ever. The initial shock may have worn off and the cable news vampires might have gone off to leech off someone else, but there is still a nation buried under piles of rubble in need of assistance. But you knew that, because you're a good person with good taste in music, and you've already penciled in this great night of music for a great cause. Matt Woods and Call It Anything also appear. 8 p.m. at 12th & Porter SEAN L. MALONEY

[Is There a Tummler in the House?] MY CATSKILLS SUMMER W/ BARRY WILLIAMS

Yes, that would be the Barry Williams, famous forever as Greg Brady, one-eighth of TV's The Brady Bunch — but we can guarantee you he didn't get this gig because the suit fit. Nashville playwright/songwriter Jay Kholos struck gold with his first musical, A Stoop on Orchard Street, which premiered in Nashville and went on to run for more than 700 performances off-Broadway in 2003. Hoping lightning will strike twice, Kholos returns to the site of his first hit, the Gordon Jewish Community Center, with his new musical: a fond evocation of a Catskills' resort hotel in the 1950s, set roughly a decade before Dirty Dancing and the Diane Lane drama A Walk on the Moon. Williams plays an 88-year-old grandfather and gets to belt out the probable show-stopper "My Manhattan," and he's flanked by a cast full of professional talent: they'll remain with the show (along with its Goodwill-scavenged props) as it winds its way to New York early next year. Also, we've been told that Kholos' daughter Michelle, herself a playwright, will attend the March 13 show with her husband, World War Z author Max Brooks — and an invite has been issued to Brooks' father, known to you as Mel Brooks. This Summer's heating up already. If Mel Brooks comes to Nashville, the Scene pledges to have the Jack Silverman Ordeal meet him at the airport playing "Springtime for Hitler," flanked by the world-famous Adam Gold Dancers and a case of Goo-Goos. Tickets run $39.95-$49.95 and can be purchased at . March 11-14 at Gordon Jewish Community Center, 801 Percy Warner Blvd. JIM RIDLEY

[The Imaginarium of Mr. Gilliam] LENTEN FILM SERIES: BRAZIL

Almost butchered by its studio, Universal, which actually cut an alternate version with a happy ending, Terry Gilliam's grim 1985 Kafka-meets-Python fantasy might seem an odd choice for the Lenten Film Series, with its theme of "Anti-Depressant" — but it may prove to be the movies' most accurate imagining of things to come. Gilliam's horrific black comedy envisions the future as one giant, oppressive Department of Motor Vehicles, with Jonathan Pryce as a low-level daydreamer in a vast (and vastly inefficient) government agency. Visually, the movie is a staggering achievement: Norman Garwood's production design evokes an unforgettable futuristic morass of exposed ductwork and tombstone-like high-rises, and Roger Pratt's distorted camerawork disorients us with dizzying vertical leaps (which he'd reprise a few years later in Tim Burton's Batman) that make vertigo the ruling sensation of the future. And Gilliam's downbeat ending carries an inkling of hope: Regardless of torture or imprisonment, the oppressors of the world can never regulate our dreams. In dreams, like Pryce's meek hero, we soar. Free and open to the public, preceded by a free light meal at 6 p.m. 7 p.m. at Downtown Presbyterian Church, 154 Fifth Ave. N. JIM RIDLEY

[GUITAR GENIUS] CHET ATKINS: CERTIFIED GUITAR PLAYER

Chet Atkins' contributions to music as a producer were so immense that they rivaled his brilliance as an instrumentalist. Atkins supervised hit albums for a host of stars, ranging from Perry Como to Jim Reeves and Elvis Presley, and helped usher in and popularize the Nashville Sound. But he was most importantly a spectacular guitarist who forged a unique sound from the seemingly disparate styles of Django Reinhardt and Merle Travis, making superb records while mastering a technique that featured the thumb and two (occasionally three) fingers of the right hand. The number of master guitarists who cite him as a primary source not only include country instrumentalists, but also countless jazz and blues players. The 1987 program Certified Guitar Player was recorded in Nashville at Vanderbilt University's Neely Auditorium, where a select audience saw such great performers as Mark Knopfler, The Everly Brothers, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings and Willie Nelson offering their tributes and joining Atkins in a wonderful program that recalled his monumental exploits — proving that Chet Atkins was still a formidable guitarist. 7 p.m. on WNPT-8 RON WYNN

FRI/3.12

[ROCKIN' DADDY] WILL KIMBROUGH CD RELEASE SHOW

Will Kimbrough's new full-length Wings sounds so effortless that you might suspect he's trying too hard. But his spare, simple songs give off an aura of homey charm. The Alabama native has always written tunes that operate somewhere in the area triangulated by Lowell George, Willis Alan Ramsey and John Lennon, and Wings makes something of its folk and soul references. Kimbrough and David Henry's production adds cello and Mellotron to uncomplicated structures, with the gorgeous "Let Me Be Your Frame" subtly twisting its chord changes. Co-written with Todd Snider, "It Ain't Cool" sounds like an instant soul classic — Mavis Staples ought to cover it. Wings is a vision of domestic bliss with regret lurking underneath the surface and puzzlement adding weight to Kimbrough's colloquial lyrics. Only "The Day of the Troubadour" skirts sentimentality — the rest of Wings is tough-minded and soft in equal measure. 7 and 9 p.m. at The Basement EDD HURT

[We Will Always Love You] TRINKETS & TREASURES GRAND OPENING W/ DOLLY PARTON LIVE

Standing in the presence of Dolly Parton is the closest you or I will ever get to walking through a solar flare. Partly, it's because ... well, duh, it's Dolly Parton, and folks have gone blind just looking at her. Mostly, though, it's because you're in the presence of the American dream made flesh — and when you see her, you realize, perhaps with a catch in your throat, that all those things people told you as a kid about hard work and talent winning out and you can make it if you try weren't just placebos deferring a life of despair. As a songwriter, she belongs in anybody's canon of American music alongside Dylan, Springsteen, Hank Williams and Woody Guthrie, hell, just for "Coat of Many Colors" alone. If the cost of basking in her sunshine is buying a T-shirt, a gewgaw or a knick-knack from her new Second Avenue emporium — where she'll appear for the grand opening at noon — call it a bargain. Or an investment in a blue-chip stock that's proved its worth beyond all reckoning. 10 a.m.-8 p.m. Sundays-Fridays, 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Saturdays at 126 Second Ave. N. JIM RIDLEY

[ABOUT LOVE] SAVOIR ADORE

On their indie-pop bona fides alone, Brooklyn's Savoir Adore would already sit a cut above — their boy-girl melodies are sharp, their arrangements smart and engaging. But where less ambitious bands would be content, Savoir Adore go glimmering through a wide range of pop styles — getting way funkier than your run-of-the-sweater-mill indie band in the process. With wry, unironic nods to the past — a little "Baba O'Reilly" here, a little "Come on Eileen" there — songwriters Paul Hammer (son of Jan, the Miami Vice theme-meister) and Deidre Muro add fantasy-pop keyboards, joyous shout-choruses and whatever else they find lying about in the annals of pop history to make music that bobs, weaves and charms. 9 p.m. at The End STEVE HARUCH

[NOT SAFE FOR READING] BRICK READING SERIES

Since 2000, Chicago's THE2NDHAND has published broadsheets designed to bring attention to worthy authors, many of whom exist well outside of the mainstream. Recently relocated to Nashville, THE2NDHAND editor Todd Dills has launched BRICK, a bi-monthly gathering designed to showcase hardscrabble regional and national prose writers. BRICK's inaugural event features Louisville's Jason Jordan, a THE2NDHAND contributor with two collections due out on avant-garde Six Gallery Press: Cloud and Other Stories and Powering the Devil's Circus. Also included are two more broadsheet regulars, East Nashvillian Eric Durchholz, whose "bromance" Heartless is set in and around the gentrified mean streets of Five Points, and author/teacher Lydia Ship, an Atlantan who's been published in literary journals such as Neon and New South, and is a contributing editor at the Chattahoochee Review. 7 p.m. at East Nashville Portland Brew PAUL V. GRIFFITH

[MUSIC IN THE GRAND LOBBY] JOHN BARLOW JARVIS

The Frist Center's been dishing up a remarkable musical come-hither with its free Music in the Grand Lobby series, and this week's entry is a perfect example, as studio keyboard ace and songwriter John Barlow Jarvis makes his series debut. You may not know Barlow's name, but you've heard him on a couple decades' worth of hit records in country, rock and pop. You've probably hummed along to some of his songs, too. Like most of the better studio pickers here, Jarvis has a broad range of styles at his command, and when he's not delivering the goods for someone else's producer, he's liable to pop out just about anything, as a long string of solo releases has demonstrated. He's about due for another — it's been seven years since View From a Southern Porch — but in the meantime, here's a fine chance to see what's on his musical mind. 6 p.m. at the Frist JON WEISBERGER

[REACHING FOR THE STARS] ONE KISS CAFE

Technically being promoted as a world premiere, this musical by Nashville's Parrish Stanton actually first debuted publicly about a year ago in a workshop production at the Darkhorse Theater, which revealed a dull, clichéd book vaguely covering the same terrain as Peter Bogdanovich's 1993 film The Thing Called Love ... you know, wannabe country singers hang out at the Bluebird trying to fulfill their long-held career aspirations, find romance, etc. Stanton's uninspired, rather boilerplate country-pop score didn't help matters back then, either, but he's since enlisted Ted Swindley as mentor in an attempt to rework the material and restage the piece with theatrical credibility. Presenting the show for three weekends at the Country Music Hall of Fame might also help on that latter score. Swindley directs, and the cast features real-life music-biz wannabes Mike Callahan and Mika Combs (she of the short-lived 2007 Fox reality show Nashville), plus country-music veteran Karen Wheeler and character actor David Kinnard. Stanton's co-writers on the tunes include Jeff Pedigo, Bill Warrington, Mike Vance and Scott Stepakoff. March 12-28 at the Country Music Hall of Fame's Ford Theater MARTIN BRADY 

[NOT THAT BARACK] DAN TEAGUE AND RAFRAF BARRAK SIGNING

George W. Bush's final approval rating was just 22 percent, and his Iraq War cost the U.S. $900 billion and thousands of lives, so a book dwelling on the upsides of the war might seem like revisionist history. But Saved by Her Enemies looks at it from an unfamiliar perspective: Rafraf Barrak, a Baghdad college student, was raised to believe that Iraq was a great superpower and that all governments were as unscrupulous as Saddam's. Her worldview was challenged when she took a job as a translator for NBC and became the object of terrorist threats. Don Teague was an American war correspondent who covered a story with her, but came to see that staying in Iraq would get her killed. The result is a story of friendship and culture clash between a Christian and a Muslim. Barrak and Teague will discuss and sign the book. 7 p.m. at Davis-Kidd EMILY BARTLETT HINES

SAT/3.13

[Kind of Blue] BLUE MOVES DANCE COMPANY 20th ANNIVERSARY

Modern dance wasn't exactly an overstocked commodity in Middle Tennessee when MTSU students Amanda Cantrell Roche, Lee Anne (Allen) Carmack and Don Sullivan founded this ensemble in 1989. We don't know which is more remarkable: that the group has remained true to its democratic ideals without erupting in artistic schism — Blue Moves prides itself on not having a single group leader — or that it's simply managed to survive two of the roughest decades for arts groups in my lifetime. Either way, they've made a point of using unexpected music and unusual settings, such as their memorable performance at the Artrageous after-party one year on the Sommet Center's two-story escalator. The group's 20th anniversary tour culminates in a gala featuring live dance and theater, vintage video, art installations, appetizers, a cash bar and the awarding of the Blue Moves Legacy honor. Selections include "Afloat," "Timeless" and "Ride," incorporating music by Nick Lowe, Jimmy Scott, Ennio Morricone, St. Germain and Nina Simone. Tickets are $15. 7:30 p.m. at Avenue 9 Studio, 312 9th Ave. S. JIM RIDLEY

[LIGHT MY FIRE] WORKS BY RICHARD PAINTER

With two never-before-seen pieces, local artist Richard Painter invokes alchemy, transformation and the Promethean myth to create a fresh exhibit of his well-known work at Vanderbilt's Sarratt Gallery. "Either rapidly or slowly, everything burns," observes Painter. "The stars, planets, rocks, earth, plants and animals, molecules and atoms; everything." Painter's work will be familiar to fans of Zeitgeist Gallery, but his contradictory process — burning delicate, detailed images into wood with a blowtorch — can sometimes seem as mysterious as the esoteric techniques that sought to coax gold from lead. The symbolic language the alchemists left behind ultimately spells out not a get-rich-quick scheme, but a process of human enlightenment punctuated by archetypical milestones. Painter's work can be seen in a similar light: a torch-lit journey with many interesting stops along the way. Through March 26 at Sarratt Gallery JOE NOLAN

[HOT OFF THE PRESSES] THE GRAYCES VINYL RELEASE

Bands start up each and every day, as the Pavement song intones, but in an age of oversaturation and insta-publish social networking, rarely do those shiny new acts go the less-is-more route by offering up just a few tracks, just a bit of info and just enough promise to pique your interest further. But such is the case with The Grayces, a wobbly garage-rock trio of transplants featuring guitarist/vocalist Murielle Rae, drummer Gaelen Mitchell and bassist Patrick Ward, who seem to have found the right mix of nervous energy, camp and pomp on their self-titled debut 7-inch. The band cites the usual garage- and art-rock suspects as influences — The Stooges, The Fall, Sonic Youth — but the three tracks available bring more to mind The Cramps fronted by Karen O, who's mostly channeling Siouxsie Sioux anyway. The song "Needer," with its haywire lilt and yelps, could be a Yeah Yeah Yeahs B-side, but the standout track here is "Yep," the jumpy guitars and carnival-esque whooping of which recall the late-'70s punk singer Poly Styrene and her backing band X-Ray Spex. If Rae is that kind of livewire on stage, look out. With The Mattoid, Hans Condor and Music City Burlesque's Violet Vixxxen. 9 p.m. at The End TRACY MOORE

[SOME KIND OF MONSTER] CRYPTOZOOLOGY: IMAGES OF LEGENDARY CREATURES

When I was a little kid, Leonard Nimoy was just as famous for hosting the paranormal creep show In Search Of ... as he was for his cold, logical dispatching of all things scientific on the bridge of the USS Enterprise. The In Search episode that quested after the legendary Bigfoot monster was the stuff that fueled most of my childhood nightmares before I was faced with the all-too-real zombies and vampires one encounters in middle school. In years since, the still-becoming-respectable fringe science of cryptozoology has sought to identify, classify and prove the existence of legendary creatures like Bigfoot as well as supposedly extinct beasts like the dinosaur that might be the Loch Ness Monster. Here in Nashville, six artists are conducting a search of their own via the canvas. Through March 23 at MIR Gallery, The Arcade JOE NOLAN

[IT TAKES TWO] OLIVER AND LUCHA

Stumbling by Oliver and Lucha's MySpace page — yes, people still have those — is an experience that could be described as "horrifically cute" or "painfully colorful." Sounding equally inviting and protective, Twist curator Beth Gilmore laughs, "Wait until you see the gallery!" A pair of Georgia peaches, the two-headed-girl-monster that is Oliver and Lucha combines installation, drawing, sound, sculpture and puppets to express a range of ideas inspired by everyone and everything from Dr. Seuss to stuffed animals and bubble gum. Attempting to create greater connection with their audience, the pair often incorporates scratch-and-sniff elements, touch-friendly textures and wearable art into their tripped-out, candy-coated affairs. We won't give away any secrets, but be prepared to check out some totally tubular sounds at this eye-popping exhibit. Through March 27 at Twist Gallery JOE NOLAN

[I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING...] "REAL" MEDIUM ALLISON DUBOIS

Do you, a close personal friend or any member of your family have a name that starts with or includes either the letter J or the letter G? Perhaps even a K? Did that person lose an older female relative — or perhaps a male — within the last two or three years ... or rather the last decade? Yes? Well, I've made contact with that person, and he or she wants you to know that he or she is happy and wants the family to move on with their lives! See? I could totally have a show like Crossing Over With John Edward. Like Edward, Allison DuBois is a self-proclaimed medium (or "profiler"), and she's the host of a new SyFy pilot in which she "travels the country solving cold cases for law enforcement agencies." Law enforcement agencies DuBois has worked with have denied that any of her tips were helpful. But hey, Patricia Arquette's character in Medium is based on DuBois, and that's enough for some folks. Let's get right down to it: Psychics are like church. It's completely 100 percent OK if it will put folks' minds at ease and help them through their grieving — a process we all know can be terribly devastating. If it helps you cope, go for it ... as long as these alleged spirit-whisperers aren't swindling boatloads of money off honest, hardworking people. Tickets to DuBois' appearance are $95-$150. 6-7 p.m. at the Nashville Airport Marriott, 600 Marriott Drive D. PATRICK RODGERS

SUN/3.14

[THE SMOKING SECTION] TOBACCO

Tobacco is the frontman for Pittsburgh-based Black Moth Super Rainbow, so if you're at all familiar with their weird electro-stoner rock, then you have a pretty good idea of what you're getting into here. Tobacco's creative apple hasn't fallen too far from the proverbial tree, but that isn't necessarily a bad thing. The darker tones and hip-hop-inspired beats draw a subtle but sufficient contrast to the warm fuzz of BMSR, making this feel like a respectable solo effort rather than mere hand-me-down B-sides. The nonsensical live performance will definitely raise a few eyebrows to say the least, but unsuspecting listeners will find themselves bobbing their heads in an introspective lull along with the eerie rhythms in no time. The bizarre imagery and haunting Beta-inspired tunes may be too much for some, but those who join in will feel right at home with rest of the freaks. 8 p.m. at Exit/In MADISON CONGER

[JAZZ ON THE MOVE] RAHSAAN BARBER & FRIENDS

Like coffee and chocolate, jazz and art can deliver a strong one-two punch. So it will be a flavorful treat to enjoy the music of John Coltrane at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. No, the spirit of the legendary Mr. Coltrane will not be coaxing sweet sounds from the sax and within the former post office building. Rather, Nashville's own sax-master and jazz proponent Rahsaan Barber will oversee the instrumental magic in a free concert called "Jazz on the Move: The Life and Music of John Coltrane with Rahsaan Barber & Friends." A Belmont music professor heavily influenced by Coltrane, Barber will be joined by members of his new ensemble, including Jody Nardone on piano, Adam Agati on guitar, Jerry Navarro on bass and Nioshi Jackson on drums. The performance will surely lure the city's cosmopolitan set and is part of the Nashville Jazz Workshop's Jazz on the Move Series. 3-4:30 at The Frist Center for the Visual Arts WILLIAM WILLIAMS

[AMBIENT ABRASION] TOMBS

On their second album, Winter Hours, Tombs, along with mixing engineer Ian Whalen, have managed the unlikely feat of making music that sounds utterly brutish over speakers of all shapes and sizes — and at low volume, too — yet paradoxically reveals a wealth of detail with the use of headphones. Make no mistake, though: The crude, yowling vocals and insistent squall of guitars hearkens back to early releases by Helmet, Unsane and contemporaries like Converge. Occasionally, the noise suddenly gives way to spacious passages that linger in the air for seconds before the trio slams them back to the periphery. A hardcore veteran and respected engineer in his own right, bandleader/frontman (and Anodyne alum) Mike Hill may draw comparisons to shoegaze and The Swans, but if he's tempered his approach any, it doesn't show with Tombs, who basically use ambience in order to make their abrasiveness hit that much harder. 8 p.m. at Little Hamilton SABY REYES-KULKARNI

[Haitian Occasion] FROM NASHVILLE WITH LOVE

With so many eyes turned toward the desperate needs of Haiti's people after last month's quake, it's interesting to note that one of Nashville's chefs has a history of helping out in Haiti (in his youth he went to the island to build a school), and he's now recruited fellow chefs for a big party to raise money for a hospital in rural Haiti. Chef Andy Hunter of Acorn Restaurant has organized From Nashville With Love, a fun tasting event at the Nashville Farmers' Market with food created by Hunter and chefs from City House, Midtown Cafe, Cabana, Sunset Grill, Rumba, Jackson's, tayst, The Yellow Porch, Caffe Nonna, F. Scott's Restaurant & Jazz Bar, Park Cafe, Miro District, Chappy's on Church, Fleur de Lis Flavors, Macke's and The Standard. The event, which also includes music and a silent auction, benefits the Visitation Hospital Foundation, a longtime Nashville charity that runs a clinic in Haiti and is working to build a full-scale hospital. Admission to the family-friendly event is just $15, free for kids under 7 (with a cash bar for the grownups). It's quite a deal to try nibbles from 17 of Nashville's best chefs — and help needy people, too. 5-8 p.m. at the Nashville Farmers' Market DANA KOPP FRANKLIN

MON/3.15

[CAN WE MENTION CLEVELAND BUT NOT LEBRON JAMES?] THIS MOMENT IN BLACK HISTORY

Despite their citizenship in a city tagged the "Mistake by the Lake" — or more likely because of it — Cleveland bands have long displayed a knack for distilling anger, frustration and boredom into volatile and envelope-pushing music. From Rocket From the Tombs to Pere Ubu and a whole slew of lesser-known bands, you can put This Moment in Black History high on that list. The Steve Albini-produced It Takes a Nation of Assholes to Hold Us Back is a set of pure pissed-off-ness that's long on tension and short on patience. The quartet just released Public Square, which dirties up the production a bit more, helping generate a more classic garage-rock feel, but they still borrow plenty of post-punk's art-school tendencies. We're supposed to be too jaded to use words like "passionate," but there's no amount of posturing that can generate music this desperate. 9 p.m. at Springwater MATT SULLIVAN

[LOVE IS A BATTLEFIELD] EMILY LONG

A lot of female singer-songwriters who grew up during the '90s learned the model for doing what they do from the introspective, confessional women who launched Lilith Fair — which, by the way, is being revived this year. Emily Long may fit the first part of the profile, but she seems to take her cues from a different bunch of women — say, Pat Benatar and Blondie and the tough, danceable guitar rock with sex appeal they were making during the early '80s. You'd never know Long is from the Southwest — Tucson, Ariz., to be exact. She's plenty at home in Brooklyn rock clubs now. When I Was In Love With is the fiery, red-haired keyboard player's debut album, and her band is driven by raw, wiry, new wave guitar playing. But her big, dramatic vocals that tend to burst into a self-possessed vibrato — squarely in the Benatar tradition — are the main event. 8 p.m. at The Basement JEWLY HIGHT

[WOOD IF I COULD] BLAIR WOODWIND QUINTET

The lively and reliable Blair Woodwind Quintet offers a wide variety of 20th century American music for its Monday night concert. Oboist Jared Hauser joined the group in 2008, but the remaining members — former Blair Associate Dean Jane Kirchner and Nashville Symphony stalwarts Leslie Norton, Cassandra Lee and Cynthia Estill — have shared the stage for almost two decades. The program features an arrangement of George Gershwin's jazz-influenced 1926 Three Preludes, originally written for piano. Irving Fine was part of the so-called "Boston School" of mid-century composers that included Copland and Bernstein — his Partita dates from 1948. Montana-based composer David Maslanka's ongoing study of Bach inspired him to include several Lutheran chorale tunes in his 1999 Quintet No. 3. Admission is free. 8 p.m. at Blair School of Music RUSSELL JOHNSTON

[UP INTO YOUR LADY PARTS WITH THE SMOOTHNESS] BULLETBOYS

"You say I'm never gonna break ya / But we won't know until we try," coaxes BulletBoys banshee Marq Torien in the band's 1989 hit "Smooth Up In Ya," a greasy-motored, sputtering hard-rock anthem celebrating a very specific vertical climb. Sure, like most hair-metal bands that wrote about gettin' up on that shit, this too lacks the concept known as nuance. But had the band not had the misfortune to show up at the tail end of the hair-metal glory days, they, too, probably could have ridden the vag of cartoonish sleaze just a bit longer alongside bluesier fellow compatriots like Skid Row or L.A. Guns. Instead, grunge happened, but it seems no one told the BulletBoys. They went ahead and released a record in 1993 anyway — you know, the year In Utero came out. (Possibly even more misguided is the fact that they called it Za-Za, a Godfather III reference.) From there on, it was a series of rough-riding blusters, including 1995's Acid Monkey (do NOT Google the album cover), which attempted to sound "alternative," and a re-recorded collection of greatest hits that bombed (not to mention the baffling decision to cover both Don McLean and Tom Waits). On the upside, there's something to say for a band that sees it through 20 more years (and 20 more members) than it has any right to — singer Torien is the only dude still standing. 9 p.m. at Hard Rock Cafe TRACY MOORE

TUES/3.16

[FOLK FOLKS] ARBOREA, PAPER HATS & LOWER DENS

When it comes to contemporary experimental artists, the word "haunting" gets tossed around an awful lot — probably an egregious amount, in fact. But the creeping, ethereal folk landscapes created by Maine duo Arborea could hardly be described more aptly. Husband and wife Shanti and Buck Curran use banjo, acoustic guitar and Ban-Jammer — that's a special sort of banjo-dulcimer made by Tennessee luthier Mike Clemmer — to construct delicate, warmly intimate numbers that are often grouped with the psych-folk movement, though theirs is a more subtle and minimalist strain. Virtuosic local sideman William Tyler also performs as his solo project Paper Hats. Warm and enveloping but never wanky, Paper Hats shows typically feature the capably strummed Telecaster of Tyler with occasional accompaniment from cello or some other beautifully moody and subtle instrumentation. Baltimore's Lower Dens — who are signed to Devendra Banhart's label, Gnomonsong — will also perform. 9 p.m. at Betty's Bar & Grill D. PATRICK RODGERS

[THE ABLIST] RED BULL THRE3STYLE FEAT. DJ ROB SWIFT

So here's a novel idea: Get eight DJs who share little beyond general geographic region, give each of them 15 minutes to bump three different genres of music, and see who rocks the crowd the hardest. Then you top off the night with a set from Rob Swift, one of the greatest turntablists in the history of the art form. We've got our dub-of-a-dub VHS tape of Swift's performance of the 1992 Disco Mix Club Championships preserved in Lucite for future generations, just in case the Internet fails or some similarly dystopian shit hits the fan. When our great-grandkids ask us, "What was hip-hop really like?" we're going to whip that tape out and be all, "This, you little 22nd century shitheads, is what hip-hop was really like." 9 p.m. at Cannery Ballroom SEAN L. MALONEY

[THERE'S MORE THAN ONE WAY TO SPELL "TRANQUILITY"] DARK TRANQUILLITY

While their fellow Scandinavian metalheads in Norway are notorious for a particular brand of black metal, Sweden is renowned for that sub-genre's more calculated cousin, death metal. And they didn't even have to burn churches to grab people's attention. The Floridians largely responsible for laying the genre's groundwork (Death, Obituary, Morbid Angel) would eventually get to the melodic and technical stuff but not before the Swedes. From that scene spawned the likes of At the Gates, Entombed and In Flames, but Dark Tranquillity have been the most consistent band in the group that didn't break up. They were also the quickest to jump headfirst into the style's more progressive tendencies, emphasizing melodic and intricate guitar work as heavily as aggression. The recently released We Are the Void is the band's ninth, and while it might lack some of the high points of their '95 classic The Gallery, they can still teach some whippersnappers a thing or two. 6 p.m. at Rocketown MATT SULLIVAN

WED/3.17

[INTERNATIONAL LENS] VINCENT WHO?

You may not recognize the name Vincent Chin, but mention it to a Yankee ex-pat who lived in Michigan during the 1980s and they'll likely remember Chin's tragic death at the hands of two autoworkers during the early days of America's fall from its position as an industrial superpower. Vincent Who? examines the Chinese-American Chin's brutal baseball-bat slaying and the light-handed sentencing his killers received, not to mention the galvanizing effect his death had on Asian-Americans across the country. Presented by Kendra Warden, Vanderbilt's program coordinator for leadership development and intercultural affairs, an after-film discussion will focus on the pan-Asian-American civil rights movement that traces its origins back to Chin's murder. 7 p.m. at Sarratt Cinema JOE NOLAN

[LONG DISTANCE SLIDER] GEORGE THOROGOOD

In the late-'70s, slide guitar slinger George Thorogood arrived like the gene-spliced son of Chuck Berry and Elmore James, duck-walking the Bo Diddley beat back onto FM radio and shoving then-obscure folk label Rounder Records onto the pop culture radar with his Top 40 album Move It on Over. Today, Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone" routine might seem a bit arthritic, but the truth is the 59-year-old's bawling voice and steel-fingered chops still serve his barroom blooze 'n' boogie like Martina Navratilova with a mean streak. He's even got a new album, his 15th studio disc, The Dirty Dozen, that reached the top of Billboard's blues chart with a blend of his own out-of-print obscurities and classics like Chess Records' songwriter Willie Dixon's "Tail Dragger" and country truck stop god Dave Dudley's "Six Days on the Road." The CD's proof that although it's been 34 years on the road for Thorogood, he ain't changed a lick. Tom Hambridge opens. 7:30 p.m. at Wildhorse Saloon TED DROZDOWSKI

[BAYOU SAGE] LES KERR AND THE BAYOU BAND

The prolific Les Kerr remains Music City's top champion of the Bayou Sound as well as a prominent author and journalist. His current album New Orleans Set offers several more stirring examples of the spirited musical blend he calls "Hillbilly Blues Caribbean Rock & Soul." The lyrics of two Kerr compositions, "New Orleans in the Spring" and "Below the Level of the Sea" are also featured in the new book Maple Leaf Rag IV: An Anthology of Poetic Writings — New Orleans (Portals), which also contains a photo of Kerr in concert. Kerr's columns and commentary have also been printed in travel journals and cookbooks, but it's his guitar playing and singing that remain his primary focus. The Bayou Band's stylistic range echoes Kerr's, as they leave no part of the vast Louisiana/Mississippi Bayou musical heritage untouched. While well-known for their annual Mardi Gras shows, the group's regular concerts — like this St. Patrick's event at Jimmy Kelly's — allow them to display their facility in other styles, among them Celtic and Irish as well as the usual blues, country, zydeco, etc. 6 p.m. at Jimmy Kelly's, 217 Louise Ave. RON WYNN