It’s been just over three years since we called Bradley Walker “arguably the best unsigned singer in bluegrass.” Today, he’s not only signed, but his Rounder Records debut is just out, and it more than justifies the earlier confidence. Produced by Carl Jackson, Highway of Dreams is good enough that it could stand as a career-crowning collection by a singer much older than Walker’s 28 years. Jackson and the disc’s all-star supporting cast deserve considerable credit for that, but in the end, it’s Walker’s triumph. His rich, resonant baritone, with its glimpses of Whitley, Haggard and Jones influences, effortlessly invests each song with just the right weight and nuance of emotion, propelled but never overwhelmed by the accompaniment. Call it acoustic country (as purists will insist) or bluegrass (as most others will), Highway of Dreams has all the polish and craft of the year’s best Music Row productions and more depth than almost any of them. Celebrating the disc’s release on the eve of the IBMA’s annual tradeshow means that most of the supporting cast will be in town, so the all-star glitter of the project will be carried into The Ryman, abetted by additional performances from bluegrass supergroup Longview and the durable IIIrd Tyme Out. Even so, it’s a safe bet that Bradley Walker won’t be outshone by anyone else on stage; born with a variant of muscular dystrophy, he’ll physically be in his ever-present wheelchair, but musically he’ll be standing as tall as the rest. He’s that good. Ryman Auditorium —JON WEISBERGER MUSIC THURSDAY, 21ST GLASS CANDY One of the sexiest bands on the planet, Portland’s Glass Candy may be the ultimate manifestation of death disco. Producer Johnny Jewel’s beats are chirpy and fun, danceable treasures whose open adoration of old-school R&B and German techno renders somewhat predictable, ultimately charming sequences from standard keyboard-and-drum-machine tools. It’s the perfect counterpart, too, for vocalist Ida No, who sounds like a sultry corpse calling from beyond the grave in whispers and yelps. The whispers are ethereal, barely perceptible lyrics gauzed across serial pin-prick beats. The yelps are easier to pick out, but their surreal countenance—“So we all died at the tragic party / We were laughing while we were dying”—makes them no less intriguing. You may end up dancing, you may end up staring: either way, this vaguely energetic ennui captivates and mesmerizes, a disinterested Siren song invoked with electronic magnetism. Therein lies the rub—or the sex. (myspace.com/glasscandy) The End —GRAYSON CURRIN FRIDAY, 22ND THE WAILERS It’d be easy to be cynical about the continued tours of The Wailers. After all, the band’s most famous antecedent, Bob Marley, has been dead for 25 years, and only three original-era Wailers—bassist Aston “Familyman” Barrett, guitarist Al Anderson, organist Earl “Wya” Lindo—hit the road these days. But, in a way, it’s fitting: As musical director of The Wailers and the man who banded them back together for 1975’s landmark Natty Dread, Barrett was as important to the sound that defined reggae on an international basis as Marley. His pure, rich bass tones and infusive rhythmic framework are themselves a rubric, and his arrangements set the standards for generations still coming around to island essence. Barrett was Marley’s most essential collaborator, entrusted to produce the first Melody Makers record, but his work with Peter Tosh, Sly & Robbie, Burning Spear, Bunny Livingston and John Denver suggest he was always looking beyond, too. And though he’s never moved beyond, at least it’s his legacy that’s rightfully being spread. (wailers.com) City Hall —GRAYSON CURRIN TONY JOE WHITE On his new Uncovered, Tony Joe White brings in guest stars to help play his new songs. And while it’s instructive to hear J.J. Cale and Eric Clapton pair up with one of the great Louisiana rockers, White’s dirty guitar and his deep voice are the focus, as always. He might not have sung his “Willie and Laura Mae Jones” as well as, say, Dusty Springfield, but White’s late-’60s Monument recordings sound great today, and the original versions of his classic songs have their own power. His 1972 recording “Even Trolls Love Rock ’n’ Roll” achieves a weird funkiness that presages the Talking Heads’ Remain in Light. He always does his signature songs, “Polk Salad Annie” and “Rainy Night in Georgia,” and this will be a chance to see the man make his guitar do the swamp thing. (tonyjoewhite.com) 5 p.m. at Grimey’s —EDD HURT VELCRO STARS/RUSSIAN SPY CAMERA/FLUID OUNCES Murfreesboro mainstays the Velcro Stars spent a considerable chunk of 2005 and the early part of this year recording their first full length, Hiroshima’s Revenge. The record’s long overdue release is scheduled for this fall, courtesy of Grand Palace Records and the Athens, Ga., label Happy Happy Birthday to Me. The band’s quirky, fuzzed out pop will fit right at home on the HHBTM roster, which includes the mildly schizophrenic Russian Spy Camera. Issued last month, You Are a Vulture finds the Camera genre-hopping from electro-pop to angular post-punk to vaguely folky acoustic numbers. Rounding out the bill will be the piano-pop stylings of Fluid Ounces, who are currently at work on a new album tentatively set for release in late October. Rumor has it this offering might be the last from Seth Timbs under the Fluid Ounces moniker. (myspace.com/velcrostars, russianspycamera.com, fluidounces.org) Grand Palace —MATT SULLIVAN CORB LUND Corb Lund is the coolest cowboy to drift down from the Great White North for a good, long time. Just a couple of weeks ago at the Canadian Country Music Awards (yep, they really have their own awards shows up there!), Lund’s countrymen named the Alberta native Roots Artist of the Year and his album Hair in My Eyes Like a Highland Steer Album of the Year. No wonder—Lund writes of the homeland (“East of the Rockies and west of the rest”) and ranching life he knows inside-out with a dry, droll wit and music that has, to paraphrase his album’s irresistible title cut, spring in its step like a white-tailed deer. Lund and his band, the wonderfully named Hurtin’ Albertans, will play an Americana Music Conference showcase alongside Lee Roy Parnell, James Hand and Ray Wylie Hubbard (Lund goes on at 10 p.m.). (corblund.com) 3rd & Lindsley —CHRIS NEAL LUKE DOUCET Luke Doucet throws in the occasional pun—a melancholy ironic twist that undermines his confident delivery. On “One Too Many,” off his most recent solo release Broken (and other rogue states), he sings, “You were never my whole world, you’re just one of many girls... well, maybe I’ve had one too many.” Girls? Drinks? The answer is probably both. There are a couple songs on Broken that are so sublimely sweet, devastating and well crafted that it’s hard to believe this guy isn’t a star. Doucet also self-produces his breed of mature, nuanced pop and is an accomplished rock guitar player. When he opens “One Too Many” with the brashly delivered line, “It takes a uniquely fucked up man to break his own heart / and the right girl at the wrong time to make him do it,” it takes a couple listens to realize how terribly sad that is. (lukedoucet.com) The Basement 10 p.m. (as part of AMC) —LEE STABERT SATURDAY, 23RD RONNIE BOWMAN & THE COMMITTEE Nominated for the IBMA’s Male Vocalist of the Year award—an honor he’s already won three times—Ronnie Bowman doesn’t get onstage as often as he could, not even in his adopted hometown. When he does, though, he’s a presence at once commanding and “aw, shucks” genial. For the occasion, he’ll be backed by long-time associates Wyatt Rice, who has the talent (though not yet the fame) of his brother Tony, and wife Garnet Imes Bowman, a superb (and under-recorded) singer, as well as newer band member Jason Hale (bass), co-writer and buddy Craig Market on banjo, the incomparable Aubrey Haynie (fiddle), and a welcome new Nashville resident, Daren Shumaker, on mandolin. Expect old favorites from Bowman’s long tenure with the Lonesome River Band, highlights from his four solo albums (including the magnificently heartbreaking “It’s Getting Better All The Time,” a chart-topper for Brooks & Dunn), and who knows—maybe a few new ones, too. The Station Inn —JON WEISBERGER JAMES HUNTER Collectors’ Choice just reissued this U.K. soul stirrer’s decade-old debut, Believe What I Say. It’s a solid slice of English R&B, notable for a cameo by Van Morrison, whose praise has provided Hunter with the stamp of authenticity connoisseurs of the genre seem to feel more comfortable knowing a new talent comes equipped with. In fact, Hunter provided all the proof he needed earlier this year on his latest, People Gonna Talk. Recorded at London’s Toe Rag Studios with the same engineer who oversaw the White Stripes’ Elephant (there’s that stamp!), People is a modest little classic of blue-eyed soul, full of tidy, handsome melodies laid over tight, ska-inflected grooves. It sounds timeless in the best sense of the word. Live, Hunter pulls it off effortlessly. (jameshuntermusic.com) Mercy Lounge —MIKAEL WOOD SUNDAY, 24TH BUILT TO SPILL Built to Spill’s last national tour found them in that awkward spot great live bands sometimes face—several months ahead of their next album’s release, and four years removed from their last. As such, Doug Martsch and co. seemed listless and almost indolent, barely excited to be playing ’94’s indie creed “Distopian Dream Girl” for the multi-hundredth time, and only slightly capable of exciting packed houses with unheard, in situ material from this year’s You in Reverse. But Built to Spill should be roaring now. Though You in Reverse was released in March, they’re only now touring, as a spring jaunt was cancelled after Martsch had emergency surgery for a detached retina. Plus the source material is ridiculously fertile. Martsch’s voice—sweet and endearing, like a comfortable hug from an old friend—peddles individualist anthems here, sprawled out as epics over his eight-minute guitar manifestos, practicing instrumentally what Martsch’s mouth preaches. ( builttospill.com ) City Hall —GRAYSON CURRIN MONDAY, 25TH THE FRENCH KICKS/THE LITTLE ONES Sometimes written off as another lackluster Brooklyn hipster band, and often overlooked in favor of their peers The Walkmen, The French Kicks are more complex than they’re given credit for. The foursome’s multilayered dulcet songs, neatly illustrated on their recent third disc Two Thousand, are rhythmic and delicate, propelled by the fusion of singer Nick Stumpf’s melancholy vocals with the hushed, racing keyboard lines. At moments, The French Kicks recall The Pixies, but their best times come when they find a sound all their own and run with it—a force particularly strong in the live setting. Openers The Little Ones bring a more psychedelic and dusty vibe to the table, with some Caribbean flavor tossed in for good measure. It’s almost what one would expect The Shins to sound like after a lengthy vacation in Jamaica—a bit odd, but surprisingly refreshing. Exit/In —EMILY ZEMLER MAGNOLIA ELECTRIC CO. W/ CATFISH HAVEN Magnolia Electric Co. frontman Jason Molina works in two modes: pensive acoustic alt-folk or raging post-Neil Young grunge-rock. (The same was true back in the late ’90s when he led Midwestern college-radio faves Songs: Ohia.) That relatively narrow focus has not, however, limited Molina’s output—in the last two years alone he’s released four full-lengths. The newest one, Fading Trails, could be considered something of a career landmark, if Molina seemed as though he cared about such distinctions. Fellow Chicagoans Catfish Haven sound like current American Idol champ Taylor Hicks fronting A.M.-era Wilco. (magnoliaelectricco.com; catfishhaven.com) The Basement —MIKAEL WOOD CODAPHONIC Though Codaphonic frontman Cody Newman sings about being an outsider (a kid with no shoes, a boy with a funny name) and likes to talk about his emotions, he doesn’t sulk or self-obsess (or waste money on makeup and tragic haircuts)—he just rocks his heart. Filled with catchy hooks, strong melodies and enough sunny “ooh”s and “aah”s to break through the deepest gloom, their debut EP Good Morning Radio is a testament to the redemptive power of music. If the cover art—a bright-yellow radio with glowing suns painted on the speakers—doesn’t make that clear, the title track’s chorus will: “I was in trouble, till I heard my favorite song / It came as a warning, and I woke up singing along.” Other standouts include a cheery ode to everyone’s favorite parenting tool, “Ritalin,” and “Hollawalla Omacalla Wee,” in which the titular hero manages to turn his awkward moniker into an anthemic chorus worthy of an arena sing-along. 7:30 p.m. at 3rd & Lindsley —JACK SILVERMAN TUESDAY, 26TH ERIC BACHMANN/RICHARD BUCKNER Eric Bachmann disbanded the mighty art-punk group Archers of Loaf in the mid-’90s and began channeling his barroom poetry and cigarillo rasp into the moody ballads of Crooked Fingers. But since Crooked Fingers have become increasingly more “rock,” Bachmann has retreated to a new quiet, dark room: one labeled only “Eric Bachmann.” On his first real solo album, the Saddle Creek-issued To The Races, Bachmann builds off acoustic guitar and his own gruff voice, adding thin layers of sound—a distant piano, a warm harmonica, a snaky violin—until songs that had seemed stark and almost a-melodic become fuller. To The Races leans on dramatic songs like “Man O’ War” and “Liars and Thieves,” where the steady-building performance matters as much as the composition. Bachmann will be sharing his sense of hushed drama with lo-fi Americana stalwart Richard Buckner, whose superb new record, Meadow, is a return to form after several years of creative wheel-spinning. Like Bachmann, Buckner has a raspy voice and the power to make a room full of people fall into a profound silence. Mercy Lounge —NOEL MURRAY WEDNESDAY, 27TH THE STATION MYTH If emo means more than emotional boys with bad haircuts playing suspect music, it ought to apply to the intricate quiet storm whipped up by The Station Myth, a New York City indie band comprised of, believe it or not, four guys with the first name Daniel. On the band’s self-titled, self-released debut, the songs, which often luxuriate in slower tempos, paint pretty vistas out of layered guitars and keys. The group isn’t afraid to meander down various sonic detours, like the lovely little choral round that brightens “The Man Who Pleased.” The lyrics seem to be an afterthought (and apparently they were only added on in the end), and the band seem especially serious (as the portentous name might suggest). But The Station Myth’s diverting textures and earnest approach command respect. And their haircuts seem fine. (thestationmyth.com) The End —WERNER TRIESCHMANN PAT GREEN This genial Texan country guy made a lot of noise (in the purely metaphorical sense) as an indie act earlier in the decade, but these days his well-meaning roots-pop schmaltz sports plenty of major-label gloss. On the new Cannonball, Don Gehman’s production gives Green’s satisfying writing and husky singing the comfy heartland oomph of great singles by Hootie & the Blowfish and John Mellencamp. Does that sound like willful condescension? Well, Green does a little of that, too. (myspace.com/patgreen) City Hall —MIKAEL WOOD BOOKS JENNIFER FINNEY BOYLAN If all you know about Clarksville is its physical and spiritual proximity to the Screaming Eagles, consider this: Austin Peay State University has invited noted transgender author Jennifer Finney Boylan to read from her 2003 memoir, She’s Not There: A Life in Two Genders. As a man, James Finney Boylan, she wrote three critically acclaimed novels and a story collection before embarking in 2001 on a long-contemplated, desperately resisted, ultimately undeniable sex change operation that shook her family to its foundation. With “irreverence and a merrily outrageous sense of humor,” as Janet Maslin put it in The New York Times, Boylan’s smart and brave memoir tells the story of how she finds her way home, both literally and figuratively. Against all odds, she keeps her family together—her sons now call her “Maddy,” a combination of Mommy and Daddy, and her wife remains a supportive partner—throughout the inevitable tumult and despair. What could have been just another earnest survivor narrative is instead a shockingly funny tale about the goodness of the human heart, about the way we’re capable of loving each other even when we don’t understand what in hell is going on, and how, if we just keep loving long enough, we’ll somehow finally get it. Boylan will lead an informal discussion on Sept. 21 at 12:45 p.m. in the Dunn Center at APSU. At 8 that night, in Gentry Auditorium, she will also read from She’s Not There and talk about diversity. –Margaret Renkl MOLL ANDERSON Anderson shopped Change Your Home, Change Your Life around all the big publishing houses and got nowhere, she says, because they couldn’t figure out whether to classify the book as self-help or home reference. Her current publisher, Thomas Nelson’s Cool Springs Press imprint, went the latter route, but there is definitely a “get out of the rut, take charge of things” aspect to the book. Anderson—an interior designer, Nashville Lifestyles columnist and TV personality (she appears regularly on “Dr. Phil”)—offers tips on choosing colors and fabrics, painting techniques and simple ways to bolster the spirit by infusing a little luxury in the home. Among her quick fixes: flowers (fresh if possible, though silk will do in a pinch), music (the “atmosphere thermostat”) and lighting. Most important, however, is decorating to suit individual personality and lifestyle. Anderson, who is developing a line of home products as well as a collection of CDs under her Moll Anderson Home “lifestyle entertainment company,” celebrates the launch of Change Your Home, Change Your Life, 6 p.m. Sept. 21 at the Borders Books on West End. –MiChelle Jones DANCE SEAN CURRAN DANCE COMPANY Sean Curran’s roots are in Irish step dancing, so it’s no surprise that rhythm and physicality are foremost principles in his work. He was a principal dancer with the Bill T. Jones/Arnie Zane Dance Company, danced for four years as an original cast member of the Broadway percussion-fest Stomp! and has even made appearances on Sesame Street. In 1997, Curran founded his own company, an ensemble of nine, of which many original members remain. The company’s work is a mélange of idioms, a merging of balletic and modern gestures that might also be leavened by international folk styles. Curran’s musical backdrops are also eclectic, ranging from original percussive scores to more familiar music by established composers. The themes are sometimes very adult in nature, dealing with issues of emotion, race and sexuality. Currently at the top of its game, the company kicks off Vanderbilt’s Great Performances series, 7:30 p.m. Sept. 21 at Ingram Hall. There is also a Performance on the Move (POM) event at the Neuhoff Center, 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 20. For tickets, call 255-ARTS or visit vanderbilt.edu/greatperformances. —MARTIN BRADY THEATER FIDDLER ON THE ROOF Lamplighter’s Theatre is a growing community-theater endeavor in Smyrna. The company’s five-show season commences Sept. 22 with this fabled Bock/Harnick/Stein musical about life in a remote Russian village, where Jewish tradition stands firm in the face of a changing modern world. For tickets and information, call 534-0148. —MARTIN BRADY THE VIEWING Nashville songwriter Rand Bishop co-authored the Toby Keith hit “My List,” which he spun off into a similarly titled book of pithy life reflections published by McGraw-Hill in 2003. An active screenwriter, he’s now written his first serious play, an exploration of family dynamics set against the backdrop of Nashville’s music industry. The Viewing received a formal staged reading in the fall of 2005; now Rhubarb Theatre mounts the world premiere, Sept. 21-30 at the Darkhorse Theater. Director Julie Alexander has gathered a strong cast that includes veteran lead performers Holly Butler and Marc Mazzone and supporting players David McGinnis, John Silvestro and Ashley Beam. For tickets, call 386-3551. —MARTIN BRADY ART NINE OFF 8TH AT SIX This one-night show at Crystalwood Gallery (514 Houston St.) features work from nine artists: Myles Maillie, Marcie Cardwell, Leigh Fitts, Monica Holmes, Chris Kuhn, Matt Reasor, Brooke Sisco, Andrew Smaldone and Vadie Turner. It’s a diverse exhibit, including artists with extensive exhibiting experience and a musician showing art for the first time, and encompassing painting, photography, installation and graphic design. At a Belcourt Theatre show this summer, Kuhn exhibited a nice series of paintings of buildings on the Sunset Strip inspired by Ed Ruscha’s landmark 1965 photography project. Turner, who has a bunch of New York credits, makes quilts and sculptures out of fast-food packaging, kitchen materials and office products. Holmes owns the Clean Plate Club catering business but also takes photos of the telling and odd details she encounters. “Nine off 8th at Six” takes place 6 to 9 p.m. Friday, Sept. 22. —DAVID MADDOX TARA THOMPSON: “HEAVEN’S COAST” The first solo show by Tara Thompson, “Heaven’s Coast” is a series of photographs that explore the relationship between the ocean and the coast. Raised in Florida, Thompson is a self-taught photographer now residing in Nashville. The show opens Saturday, Sept. 23, with a gallery reception from 6 to 9 p.m. The show will be on display through October 19. —JOE NOLAN “BEDAZZLED: 5,000 YEARS OF JEWELRY FROM THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM” The Walters Art Museum in Baltimore has a comprehensive treasure-house collection that boasts multiple examples of everything from ancient Near Eastern cylinder seals to Impressionist paintings. Jewelry figures in their holdings from every era, and highlights were gathered together in this show. The oldest pieces are from Egypt and Near Eastern cultures, followed by luxurious objects through the ages, such as a gold-encrusted bracelet from classical Greece, Renaissance enamels decorated with gemstones, and an Art Nouveau Lalique brooch. The objects have great historical interest as examples of fashions, devotional practices and lifestyles in these eras, but there’s no getting around the basic visual seduction of all the gold and precious stones. The show is on view at the Frist Center through Jan. 14. —DAVID MADDOX RIVERFRONT REDEVELOPMENT PLAN PUBLIC FORUM At the first forum in August, the team working on a plan for the Cumberland River waterfront unveiled some bold and thought-provoking ideas. The most far-reaching option envisioned cutting additional channels for the Cumberland that would turn an area with LP Field at its center into an urban island with housing, commercial space and parklands. They took questions and comments at the August meeting and are coming back with refined plans for further comment this Tuesday. Expect more specifics on what would it would take to do something big with the riverfront. The forum will be held at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 26, at Adventure Science Center. —DAVID MADDOX LECTURES PAUL RUSESABAGINA During the 1994 Rwandan genocide, hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina sheltered over 1,200 orphans and refugees running from the Hutu militia, an act of compassion immortalized in the Academy Award-nominated film Hotel Rwanda. More than a million people were massacred during a period of 100 days, but Rusesabagina, his family and the refugees survived by hiding in the Hotel des Mille Collines, putting mattresses against the windows to protect themselves against gunfire and grenades. Eventually receiving political asylum in Belgium, Rusesabagina has since been honored with the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Civil Rights Museum’s International Freedom Award. He will tell his story and speak about the importance of international activism at 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 25, at Vanderbilt’s Student Life Center. Signed copies of his autobiography An Ordinary Man will also be available. Hotel Rwanda will be screened at 5 and 7:30 p.m. Sunday in Sarratt Cinema. —CLAIRE SUDDATH WILLIAM MCDONOUGH McDonough is to the sustainable design movement what Hilary Duff is to 14-year-old girls: a singularly influential icon. Neither a crunchy environmentalist nor a blind apologist for industry, McDonough, an architect, uses science and design sensibilities to argue for “ecologically intelligent design.” In his book Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things, written with colleague and chemist Michael Braungart, McDonough points out that it’s all fine and good to recycle metals, papers and other waste products, but that, in its current form, recycling amounts to “downcycling” because the materials lose quality in the process. What makes more sense, he argues, is to recycle a chair to become a chair, a book to become a book—what he calls “cradle-to-cradle cycles.” In fact, Cradle to Cradle is itself an example, as it is made of synthetic waterproof paper that is meant to be used again and again, without ever being downgraded. In 1999, Time named McDonough “Hero of the Planet,” and wrote, “his utopianism is grounded in a unified philosophy that, in demonstrable ways, is changing the design of the world.” He speaks at 7 p.m. Sept. 26 at Benton Chapel on Vanderbilt’s campus. The event is free and open to the public. —LIZ GARRIGAN FILM R. KELLY: TRAPPED IN A CLOSET—THE SING-A-LONG EXTRAVAGANZA Oh. My. God. Before there were snakes on a plane, there was rapper R. Kelly in a closet, beset by jealous husbands, bad guys with Berettas and lying bitches. You followed the saga through all 12 episodes, you TiVo’d the South Park episode just in case—now follow the bouncing ball: “Now pause the movie cause what I’m about to say to y’all is so damn twisted / Not only is there a man in his cabinet, but the man is a midget!” The “hip-hopera” that launched a thousand parodies kicks off the fall leg of the Belcourt’s “Late Show” series, and the audience is invited to rap along with hero Sylvester as his hookup goes from bad to worse. Arrive early, as Nashville’s Pull-the-String Players present their own all-puppet rap musical “One Brown Finger: The Saga of MC Homocyde.” The fun starts 11:30 p.m. Friday; bring your own spatula. —JIM RIDLEY MAJOR DUNDEE Famously butchered by Columbia after its ruinous premiere in 1965, Sam Peckinpah’s Civil War epic is the stuff of legend for its troubled production history alone: supposedly star Charlton Heston threatened the recalcitrant director at one point with a cavalry saber, even though Heston eventually put up his own salary to keep Peckinpah on the picture. The director’s cut (estimated by some at more than four-and-a-half hours) is likely lost to history, but last year the long-missing 136-minute premiere version resurfaced: that version screens this Friday, Saturday and Sunday morning at 11:30 as the Belcourt’s “Weekend Classic Matinee.” See our Movie Listings on p. 66 for more information, with a review online at nashvillescene.com. Also opening this weekend at the theater: Laurent Cantet’s erotic drama Heading South, with Charlotte Rampling and Karen Young. —JIM RIDLEY LAWNCHAIR THEATRE Now that the weather’s getting cooler, it’s worth a drive to Leipers Fork for this fun family event running weekend nights through October. In the shadow of the nearby jailhouse—warning enough for folks not to get too rowdy—Larry and Mark Montgomery show a different kid’s film and classic every Friday and Saturday at dusk. This week’s shows are the Walter Matthau comedy Little Miss Marker and the Katharine Hepburn-Burt Lancaster romance The Rainmaker; admission is free, blankets and lawnchairs (duh) are welcome, and hot dogs and hamburgers are available. Call 477-6799 for directions and more information. —JIM RIDLEY 2006 MANHATTAN SHORT FILM FESTIVAL Twelve films from nine countries (including Ireland, Cuba, Poland and Israel) make up the 10th annual touring festival of short films, which started in 1997 with the entries projected on a flatbed truck parked in downtown Manhattan. This year, 489 filmmakers from 39 countries submitted their work, and fest director Nicholas Mason has expanded screenings into Europe and Canada. This year’s batch ranges from horror to comedy to animation, and the audience selects the winner, with votes to be tabulated before the grand prize film is announced Sunday in New York’s Union Square Park. The films screen 7 p.m. Thursday at the Belcourt; a list of the shorts can be found at belcourt.org. —JIM RIDLEY ALL THE KING’S MEN What, you mean political exploitation of the impoverished in Louisiana isn’t new? Sean Penn plays Willie Stark, the Huey Long-like firebrand with feet of clay, in Steven Zaillian’s adaptation of the Robert Penn Warren novel; the supporting cast includes Jude Law, Kate Winslet, James Gandolfini and Mark Ruffalo—nearly all of whom are out-acted by long-absent Jackie Earle Haley from the original Bad News Bears. The film opens Friday, along with Jackass: Number Two, the Jet Li martial-arts epic Fearless and the highly touted World War I aviation adventure Flyboys. Reviews can be found online at nashvillescene.com and in our Movie Listings on p. 66. —JIM RIDLEY