Nineteenth century Europe witnessed significant changes: railroad tracks invaded the countryside, steamboats peppered the waterways, and factories drew families away from the country and into the city. Artists reacted to these changes by trading their crowded urban existence for a calmer pastoral one. Impressionists and painters from the Barbizon school (named after the town in which the artists gathered) captured an increasingly marginalized rural way of life, using bucolic paintings of the topography, atmosphere or local inhabitants to ponder humanity’s ties to nature. For this show, 41 American and French landscape paintings come to the Frist Center for the Visual Arts from the Worchester Art Museum, including works by Claude Monet, Camille Pissarro, Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot, John Singer Sargent, George Innes and others. The show opens with a reception on Friday; curator Elizabeth Johns will discuss the process of selecting the works from the Worcester Art Museum in a free public lecture on Sunday, March 19, at 2 p.m. in the Frist Center Auditorium. —Claire Suddath MUSIC THURSDAY, 16TH HEM These purveyors of neo-Romantic Americana don’t just make gorgeous music, they serve as a corrective to roots music mavens who wrongly equate rawness with authenticity. The exquisitely crafted, warmly executed arrangements—for winds, glockenspiel and all manner of bowed and plucked instruments—might have the symphonic sweep of Aaron Copland or Van Dyke Parks, but they also convey a confessional intimacy worthy of the best singer-songwriters. It all centers on the lithe, bell-toned soprano of Sally Ellyson, a singer whose elegant, elongated phrasing cries rivers of suggestion on everything from pianist Dan Messé’s wry laments to reimagined versions of old Appalachian ballads or R.E.M.’s “South Central Rain.” Yet whether it’s a makeover of Johnny & June’s “Jackson” or of Fountains of Wayne’s “Radiation Vibe,” Hem persistently show that rather than diluting the emotional immediacy of music, refinement can greatly intensify it. (www.hemmusic.com ) Exit/In —BILL FRISKICS-WARREN SOUND TEAM These days, bands from Austin, Texas, have all the advantages of proximity, both to the buzz-fest South by Southwest and to a musical oasis filled with scores of band-friendly venues. SOUND team have exploited both angles: they’re not only festival favorites, but local favorites as well. The six-member outfit feature three keyboards and generate frenetic, stormy soundscapes à la The Arcade Fire, but without all the grandness. This is a band who cite both Eno and Can as influences, and you can actually hear it: their songs are alternately fuzzy and ambient or loose and playful. Ultimately, though, this is dance rock at heart—heavily synthesized, and heavy on echo and reverb. (www.myspace.com/soundteam) The Basement —TRACY MOORE GRAYSKUL The guys in this hip-hop duo from Seattle change their names as often as Nelly changes Grillz, and that’s errday, so there’s no point in trying to keep up with MCs Recluse and Reason. In “Medicinal Usage,” Reason, a.k.a. Orny Ozzborn, proclaims that he’s “gonna start charging rent” for all those shadowy figures in his mind—Phantom Ghost, El Tapo, Fiddleback, and that’s just the A-team from 2004’s Deadlivers LP. Now on a 36-city tour, Grayskul are getting ready to release the follow-up, Dead Radio, on the Rhymesayers label later this year. These guys have so many personalities that no less than seven different mix CDs will be available at this show. (www.myspace.com/grayskul) The End —MAKKADA B. SELAH FRIDAY, 17TH DJ PERETZ Rechristening himself DJ Peretz, ’90s alt-rock icon Perry Farrell is the latest pop star to embrace electronica and the power of two turntables. Farrell’s projects have always crossed musical and cultural boundaries, from the broad swath cut by the Lollapalooza bills he put together to the genre-blending funk-rock of Jane’s Addiction. With his solo electronica LP, Song Yet to Be Sung, Farrell—a recent adherent of the ba’al teshuva movement—mingles dub, breakbeat and rock with Yiddish and Kabbalah, all of it sung in his trademark atonal wail. The record might be evidence of Farrell’s desire to tap the spirituality and transcendence inherent in so much dance music, but judging from snippets of his live sets, his DJing favors quirky mixes like a breakbeat cover of “Walk on the Wild Side” that segues into ELO’s “Strange Magic.” In other words, best to attend this one with an open mind. Local spinners Spoon, Chip B and Zak Davis will open. Mercy Lounge —MARK MAYS JOE, MARC’S BROTHER The way that The Scorchers and The White Animals defined Nashville rock in the early 1980s, JMB defined the late-’90s scene here. They shared an offbeat aesthetic, a love for syrupy pop harmonies and a geek-rock sense of humor with many of their cohorts, but their high level of musicianship and vision set them apart. Guitarist Joe Pisapia’s wacked-out, Poindexter-on-acid guitar excursions in particular were a tonic in a town swimming in over-skilled but uninventive pickers. Perhaps the past tense isn’t appropriate here, since JMB haven’t so much disbanded as dramatically reduced their schedule to, say, a gig every year or two—a necessary cutback, since Joe Pisapia has been busy touring with Guster while his brother (and drummer) Marc and bassist Hags spent a few years as Josh Rouse’s rhythm section. (www.joemarcsbrother.com) The Basement —JACK SILVERMAN SATURDAY, 18TH GHOSTFINGER If you’ve seen this Murfreesboro trio live, you’re familiar with the Ghostfinger grin—that shit-eating, devil’s-horns-waving jubilation that overtakes even the most stoic clubbers after a couple songs and more than a couple PBRs. Led by mustachioed, elastic-faced frontman Richie Kirkpatrick, the ’Finger serve up a cheeky brand of referential rock that’s equal parts irony and earnestness. Their sound (like their wardrobe) is all over the rock map. Critics may write themselves in corners trying to pin down their various influences—“They’re, um, Gram Parsons meets Megadeth meets Spinal Tap meets Meatloaf, with, of course, a healthy dose of the Stones.” But all you have to do is get your ass across the river Saturday night, sit back and let your very own stupid smile creep across your face. Ghostfinger also play Friday night at Wall Street in the ’Boro. (www.myspace.com/ghostfinger) 3 Crow Bar —LEE STABERT NASHVILLE CATS SALUTE SESSION PLAYER LLOYD GREEN With its several pedals, thigh-operated levers and variety of tunings, the pedal steel guitar might just be the most difficult-to-play instrument going. Lloyd Green plays it as well as anyone ever has. During the ’60s and ’70s, Green was a Nashville Cat of the highest rank: he graced Johnny Paycheck’s wacked-out Little Darlin’ sides with a swelling and ominous twang that kept pace with the singer’s intense vocalizing. He also contributed to The Byrds’ landmark country-rock album Sweetheart of the Rodeo and played on Tammy Wynette’s “D-I-V-O-R-C-E” and countless other country classics. Green even had hits of his own, including an instrumental version of Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now” in 1973. Now, after years away from the studios, Green’s back, offering his skills and apt phrasing to new generations of country acts. Fittingly, he’s the debut artist in the Country Music Hall of Fame’s new interactive series, “Nashville Cats: A Celebration of Music City Session Players.” 2 p.m., Ford Theater, Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum —DAVID CANTWELL SUNDAY, 19TH BIG & RICH/GRETCHEN WILSON/COWBOY TROY/SHANNON LAWSON/JAMES OTTO The MuzikMafia are plugging through a sophomore year that’s put a muffler on their loud and proud 2005, when Big & Rich and Wilson blew open Music Row with an in-your-face style that made it easier for major-label talent scouts to take chances. Their second albums haven’t caught fire the way their debut records did, and Wilson has struggled recently to establish herself as a headlining arena act, but don’t expect them to slow down long. They reunite a core MuzikMafia lineup, bringing in Cowboy Troy’s hick-hop, Shannon Lawson’s mix of bluegrass R&B, and James Otto’s Southern rock for this benefit for the Country Music Hall of Fame. (www.muzikmafia.com) Ryman Auditorium —MICHAEL McCALL MONDAY, 20TH ROSIE FLORES & FRIENDS This veteran roots rocker exemplifies what it means to be an upstanding member of a music community. Since moving to Nashville seven years ago, Flores has played regularly around town, always sparking the crowd with her charisma and sprightly tunes and guitar solos. She also supports the gigs of others, shows up at local fundraisers and offers an encouraging example to those hoping to sustain careers outside the major-label system. With this show she bids goodbye before returning to Southern California, where she lived in the ’80s and ’90s. She plans to teach guitar and vocals and spend more time on her artwork, but she’ll no doubt again become a leading light of the SoCal roots-rock community, where she took home Best Country Artist honors at the L.A. Weekly Music Awards in 1999. She deserves the warmest of send-offs. (www.rosieflores.com) Mercy Lounge —MICHAEL McCALL TUESDAY, 21ST AUTUMN DEFENSE This deep into winter, it’s therapeutic to spend time with the wistful tones of autumn—lighter and richer than the grayness of February. This duo consisting of Wilco members Pat Sansone and John Stirratt create a dense palette of color and mood that’s both rich with nostalgia and coolly modern. As hinted in the one track he wrote for Wilco’s A.M., Stirratt is a strong songwriter with an expressive voice and a skill for capturing the simple themes of love and loneliness. Echoes of the Beach Boys and vintage chamber pop pervade the duo’s luxurious, melodic pop tones. It’s fitting that a band drawing inspiration from a transitional time of year would give a nod to the past while making music that is beautiful and relaxed—two wonderful, and often underutilized, qualities in contemporary music. (www.theautumndefense.com) The Basement —LEE STABERT CLASSICAL “BLAIR CELEBRATES” CONCERT SERIES Though a recent injury has forced Betty Freeman to cancel her plans to attend this evening honoring her work as a philanthropist and photographer, the concert offers an unmatched opportunity to hear a program spotlighting contemporary composers who break with the traditionally stabilizing forms of the classical repertoire. Blair faculty will perform works by John Adams, Alfred Schnittke and Gyorgy Ligeti, three of the most prominent of the more than 85 composers whom Freeman has supported with grants and commissions over the last half-century. She has remarked that the best way of introducing such works to the public would be to have them make up the majority of a concert program, rather than being peripheral to the major works of canonical composers. Her wishes will be more than granted this Thursday, Feb. 16, in the Blair School of Music’s Ingram Hall. Blair will also host an accompanying exhibit of Freeman’s photographic portraits, which capture the daunting creativity of the artists she’s sponsored. —BILL LEVINE DANCE SENSUAL. SEDUCTIVE. STRAVINSKY. Nashville Ballet’s third major production of the season is a duo of early, groundbreaking Igor Stravinsky scores, Firebird and The Rite of Spring. The company brings to bear its full powers of physicality and sensual expression through the choreography of Paul Vasterling and the late Salvatore Aiello. Performed Feb. 17-19 at TPAC.  —MARTIN BRADY BELLYDANCE SUPERSTARS The Belcourt Theatre is becoming a regular stop for this dance troupe, who aim to celebrate bellydancing as both art form and popular entertainment. Their latest show, entitled “Raqs Carnivale,” includes new choreography and costumes, as the company return to the U.S. after spending much of 2005 abroad. There’s one performance only, on Feb. 18 at 8 p.m. —MARTIN BRADY THEATER METAMORPHOSES John Holleman and Company mount Mary Zimmerman’s buzz-worthy play in the shadow of the Athena statue inside The Parthenon. The adaptation of Ovid’s mythical tales should lend itself well to this adventuresome ensemble’s unique staging ideas and mask work. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17-19 and 24-26; call 862-8431, ext. 224, for tickets.  —MARTIN BRADY MISTER GREENJEANS (MY MISINTERPRETATION OF KOBO ABE’S THE GREEN STOCKINGS AND WHAT I THOUGHT THE INCREDIBLE HULK #130 WOULD BE ABOUT WHEN I SAW THE COVER) Japanese writer Kobo Abe (1924-1993) is best known for his novels, but he also produced a few plays, including The Green Stockings, concerning a panty fetishist who undergoes experimental surgery. Local playwright Nate Eppler has loosely adapted this Kafka-esque tale, developed in part at a Kennedy Center playwriting intensive. Comic in spirit and following the original plot to a point, Mister Greenjeans emerges as commentary on Eppler’s misunderstanding of Kobo’s play and the extremes of the Japanese/American cultural divide. Julia Hinson directs the local premiere. Presented Feb. 17-25 at Bongo After Hours Theatre; for reservations, phone 383-3182. —MARTIN BRADY THE UNDERPANTS After funding challenges prohibited the mounting of a fall production, Actors Bridge Ensemble swings back into action with this Steve Martin comedy based on a 1910 German farce. Talented players such as Matthew Carlton, Holly Allen and Josh Childs, under the direction of Don Griffiths, will attempt to wring consistent laughs out of Martin’s slyly worded satirical take on what happens when a bureaucrat’s wife gains notoriety by inadvertently dropping her drawers in public. This Nashville premiere will be performed Feb. 17-26 at the Darkhorse Theater; for tickets, phone 341-0300. —MARTIN BRADY A LITERARY SOLDIER—HARRIET BEECHER STOWE Theater Craft Inc. presents its “New Voices in Black and White” series in celebration of Black History Month. The mini-festival includes this engaging portrait of the remarkable Stowe (1811-1896), whose abolitionist sensibilities drove her to write Uncle Tom’s Cabin, possibly the single most influential novel in American history. Elizabeth Davidson—who also authored the script—stars under the direction of Robert Kiefer. There is one performance only, 7:30 p.m. Feb. 17, at the Looby Theater, 2301 MetroCenter Blvd. A Q-and-A session follows. Admission is on a pay-what-you-can basis. —MARTIN BRADY ART LUCY LIPPARD Art critic Lippard got her start in New York in the early 1960s and quickly established herself as a critical voice for the most important movements of the time, Pop Art and Minimalism. When the 1970s came around, feminism emerged as a revolutionary cultural, social and artistic force, and Lippard became one of the leading writers to put forth a distinctly feminist aesthetic position. In more recent years, she has focused on localism, which appears to be the topic of her talk at Vanderbilt, “Common Ground: Arts & Communities.” Her career as a writer shows remarkable consistency in her dedication to social change and to the idea that a decentralized art world can make the experience of art broader, richer and more truthful. Lippard’s career has intertwined with that of Judy Chicago, who, with her husband Donald Woodman, is currently serving as the Chancellor’s Artist in Residence at Vanderbilt. Chicago pioneered art with a radically female aesthetic at the same time Lippard picked up the critical banner for feminism, and more recently has taken to working in local artist communities. So with Chicago currently in our midst, Lucy Lippard’s lecture will likely be all the more resonant. The talk is at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 22, in Vandy’s Student Life Center; admission is free, but seating is first-come, first-serve. —DAVID MADDOX “MAGNIFICENT, MARVELOUS MARTELÉ: AMERICAN ART NOUVEAU SILVER FROM THE ROBERT AND JOLIE SHELTON COLLECTION” Toward the end of the 19th century, artists and craftsmen began to rebel against the machine-made aesthetic of the industrial revolution, looking to nature for inspiration. The new movement, Art Nouveau, used organic curves and botanical themes that eventually influenced American craftsmen of every genre. When it came to silverwork, the Gorham Manufacturing Company’s line of Martelé silver was arguably the best example of Art Nouveau decorative craftsmanship of its era. The Shelton Martelé silver collection, showing at the Frist Center Feb. 17 to June 11, consists mostly of vases, tea sets and other fine-dining items, all hand-wrought with a mind-boggling attention to detail. The collectors, Jolie and Robert Shelton of Lafayette, La., will be on hand Saturday, Feb. 18, at 2 p.m. for a free talk, and Bob Barrett from the Frist Center will lead an informal conversation about the pieces on Friday, April 21, at 7 p.m. —JESSICA FRIEDMAN DEBRA FRITTS & REBECCA RUEGGER: “STORYTELLING X 2” Though sculptor Debra Fritts’ and painter/illustrator Rebecca Ruegger’s works are very different, they do have one thing in common: narrative. Fritts’ female statues, made from terracotta clay and found objects, have a vulnerability and delicacy that recalls Degas’ danseuses. Their most distinguishing feature is their texture, created with a variety of glazes and stains. The resulting effect is that of abandoned cemetery statues—forlorn creatures with peeling paint and decades of water damage and mold on their skin. The narrative in question is more like the artist’s personal life, created by using objects as metaphors. Sharing this show at Gallery One with Fritts is Ruegger, whose work as a corporate illustrator follows her in her pastel and watercolor treatments of Williamson County landscapes. Her figure drawings, however, offer a darker, more complex view of the world. Solitary, distorted figures are set amid softly blurred backgrounds, surrounded by objects like merry-go-rounds and train tracks that float in midair. Though her figures have a picture-book innocence, her sepia hues give these depictions a melancholic and intriguing quality. “Storytelling x 2” begins with a reception with the artists, 6-8:30 p.m. Feb. 18 at Gallery One. The show runs through March 26. —JESSICA FRIEDMAN WILL CONNOR AND LARRY HALVORSEN “Upstairs at the Artisan” is a new fine art program presented by American Artisan, the 36-year-old crafts gallery on Harding Road. Nashville photographer Connor and Seattle sculptor Halvorsen will be featured in the premiere show on Feb. 24. Halvorsen’s clay work is inspired by ancient ritual objects and Paleolithic tools. His functional pieces bear designs that mimic natural forms and bring both Celtic and Australian aboriginal patterns to mind. Will Connor’s serene, colorful nature photography addresses similar subjects. The public is invited to an artists’ reception, 5-8 p.m. Friday. —JOE NOLAN MARLEEN DE WAELE-DE BOCK/JOE KING A carpenter by trade, Columbia resident Joe King found his calling as a sculptor after an automobile accident forced him to take more than a year to recuperate from his injuries. First he started painting rocks, but as he began to recover, he took to the stones with a hammer and chisel. His show at the Tennessee Arts Commission, opening Feb. 2 and running through March 17, features his limestone carvings of animals and human figures. Sharing the gallery show with King is Brentwood artist Marleen de Waele-de Bock, a Belgian native who relocated to Middle Tennessee in 2001 after spending years in Mozambique and South Africa. Trained as a printmaker, de Waele-de Bock now relies more on layers of oil paint to create canvases that mix simple imagery with bold, rich fields of color. Tennessee Arts Commission will host a reception for the artists, 5-7 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18. —JONATHAN MARX JULIA MARTIN Martin’s artist statement is unequivocally clear: she paints to “keep herself sane.” Though she was primarily trained as a portrait painter, this passionate Nashville native recently decided to “free herself from all expectation”—and with good results. What emerged was a lush, surreal universe, held together by Martin’s command of realism and her wild imagination. Juxtaposing people with animals is a recurring theme; in one characteristic example, “The Sapling,” a woman wearing a red ball gown and a World War I aviator’s cap holds a reindeer on a leash. Though the images are strange, they remain pleasing to the eye, thanks in part to her command of color, with striking reds and bright blues coexisting harmoniously alongside subdued earth tones in a style reminiscent of Gauguin’s early periods. Martin is featured at tHE aRT hOUSE gallery through Feb. 23. —JESSICA FRIEDMAN “THE ART OF PAINTING” Three artists are featured in “The Art of Painting,” the February installment of The Arts Company’s monthly Salon Saturday event. Budd Harris Bishop creates watercolor miniatures, while Bill Neill produces large abstracts and David Swanagin renders traditional subjects in oil. A public opening will be held 2-6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18, and the show remains up through March 10. —JOE NOLAN BOOKS DOMINIC SMITH In his first novel, The Mercury Visions of Louis Daguerre (Atria Books), Dominic Smith renders the founding father of photography as a man racked by physical and emotional afflictions, driven to achieve success in art while inadvertently poisoning himself with the tools of his trade. The titular visions are delusions caused by Daguerre’s liberal use of mercury in creating his namesake daguerreotypes. Smith uses the real-life, crippling effects of the quicksilver toxin to explain the book’s premise: that in 1846 Daguerre became convinced the world was about to end. And what would a famous photographer do if the world were about to end? Take pictures, of course. In his quest to take the most important photos of his life, Daguerre journeys through the political maelstrom of France and forces a confrontation with the woman who, by refusing his love for more than 50 years, was the mother of his artistic passion. The images Smith paints with his words do justice to the great Daguerre, a “thief of light” who practiced true art with a camera. The author will be at Davis-Kidd Booksellers on Feb. 18 at 1 p.m. —CHRIS SCOTT RONALD KIDD In Monkey Town: The Summer of the Scopes Trial (Simon & Schuster), Nashville author Ronald Kidd skillfully portrays the blistering heat of Dayton, Tenn., in the summer of 1925. And it wasn’t just the weather that was hot. Kidd’s version of this oft-told tale, about the prosecution of John Scopes for teaching evolution, captures the cultural intensity of the event by observing it through the eyes of a 15-year-old girl. Frances Robinson has a crush on Johnny Scopes, and she comes of age watching the likes of Clarence Darrow, William Jennings Bryan, H.L. Mencken and others alternately praise and vilify her friend, her family and her town. Marketed as a young-adult novel, Monkey Town should please anyone interested in a well-written story about this important, and still relevant, episode in Tennessee history. Ronald Kidd will appear at Davis-Kidd Booksellers on Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. —CHRIS SCOTT FILM THE SECOND CHANCE The rare Nashville-generated film to receive major-studio distribution—a subsidiary of Sony Pictures opens it in 35 markets Friday—Steve Taylor’s drama stars singer Michael W. Smith in his first starring role as a prideful suburban music minister who butts heads with the pastor (jeff obafemi carr) of an embattled inner-city church. Filled with familiar faces from local theater, including Helen Shute-Pettaway, Matt Chiorini, Jeremy Childs, Persephone Felder-Fentress and a memorably smarmy David Alford, the film has its gala premiere this week before opening Friday. —JIM RIDLEY LAWRENCE OF ARABIA The yardstick by which screen epics are measured, David Lean’s 1962 blockbuster offers unparalleled spectacle with intellectual heft and a still controversial streak of perversity. It makes meddling in other cultures seem mad, arrogant and yet irresistibly romantic—what empire-builder doesn’t see himself as Peter O’Toole’s blue-eyed devil, going native and leading charges with the wind in his fluttering robes? With its mile-wide desert vistas and indelible images of heat and conquest, it’s perhaps the ultimate widescreen movie. The 1962 Best Picture winner begins a nine-day run at the Belcourt this Sunday as part of the theater’s Oscar Night countdown. —JIM RIDLEY BREAKFAST ON PLUTO Neil Jordan’s daffy picaresque about a young drag queen (Cillian Murphy) flouncing his way through the Troubles in 1970s Belfast played Green Hills for a week with little notice. It gets a return engagement at the Belcourt, giving you one last crack at its animated robins, outrageous fantasy sequences and tip-top soundtrack (including Van Morrison and Harry Nilsson). Co-starring Liam Neeson, Stephen Rea and Bryan Ferry as a serial killer, the film plays at least through Thursday. —JIM RIDLEY AILEEN: THE LIFE AND DEATH OF A SERIAL KILLER How well did Charlize Theron portray serial killer Aileen Wuornos in Monster? See this chilling 2003 documentary by Nick Broomfield and Joan Churchill and find out. Broomfield revisits Wuornos, the subject of his equally fine 1991 doc Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer, for an account of her appeals process and her last days on Florida’s death row, plunging once again into the surrounding ecosystem of publicity leeches and infamy exploiters. The film screens 6 p.m. Tuesday at Vanderbilt’s Sarratt Cinema, sponsored by Project Dialogue as part of its ongoing discussion of the death penalty. —JIM RIDLEY FREEDOMLAND The search for a carjacked mom’s missing child touches off a racial conflagration in this movie version of the Richard Price novel, starring Julianne Moore and Samuel L. Jackson. It opens Friday, along with the Antarctic dog-team saga Eight Below. —JIM RIDLEY