At its best, Ray LaMontagne’s 2004 debut Trouble manages to channel glimmers of Van Morrison’s masterpiece Astral Weeks—that late afternoon spell of escapism and wonder. And even in its more pedestrian moments, the record still manages to cast its own spell, mostly due to LaMontagne’s out-of-time voice. It’s raspy, almost androgynous charm is put front and center over warm, folky arrangements, creating a sound that is simultaneously sweet, melancholy and achingly familiar. Many things about LaMontagne feel vintage, especially the fact that he is not only a songwriter but also a singer, capable of reinterpretation and goose-bump-inducing vocal choices. LaMontagne has an enigmatic persona—as evidenced by his blow-up a couple months ago at the Ryman. But this time there should be no such problems, as he’ll bring his own crowd—and their hushed reverence—to War Memorial. And, just in case you’re wondering but were too embarrassed to ask, yes, the title track of Trouble was that incongruously wonderful song sung by American Idol Taylor Hicks on last year’s show. I’ll stick with LaMontagne’s version. (raylamontagne.com) War Memorial Auditorium —LEE STABERT MUSIC THURSDAY, 30TH-SUNDAY, 3RD NASHVILLE OPERA AND NASHVILLE SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA The city’s top two classical groups are joining forces for an interesting experiment: presenting a pair of holiday operas at Schermerhorn Symphony Center. The hall wasn’t designed to accommodate opera, so it has neither an orchestra pit nor a large, theatrical stage. But it does offer intimacy, which should be a big plus since the groups are presenting two operatic bagatelles for children, Menotti’s Amahl and the Night Visitors and Ravel’s L’Enfant et les Sortileges. Alastair Willis will conduct the productions, which will feature an international cast of singers along with the costumes of Saturday Night Live alum Franne Lee and the scenic designs of Ron Kadri. The operas run Thursday, Nov. 30 through Saturday, Dec. 2 at 8 p.m., with a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday, Dec. 3. Tickets for the performances are $32.50 to $107.50 and can be purchased by calling the Nashville Symphony Orchestra box office at 687-6400 or by visiting nashvillesymphony.org. —JOHN PITCHER THURSDAY, 30TH MARTINA McBRIDE Dean Martin never knew he was going to sing with Martina McBride someday, having rather inconveniently died in 1995, but it’s hard to imagine he would have objected to the idea. After all, Dino seemed like an easygoing cat—and besides, McBride is a sublime vocalist whose power as an interpreter transcends the country genre. A technology-assisted duet between the two on “Baby, It’s Cold Outside” (featured on a new CD reissue of Christmas With Dino) is just one of the fresh attractions in the four-time CMA Female Vocalist of the Year’s ever-evolving “Joy of Christmas” show, which she’s undertaken for the last four years. It’s a multimedia spectacle featuring a large cast, special effects, video, elaborate sets, audience sing-alongs and, of course, McBride’s stunning soprano, all working overtime to get you into the Christmas spirit. (martina-mcbride.com) Gaylord Entertainment Center —CHRIS NEAL FRIDAY, 1ST -SATURDAY, 2ND BILL MONROE APPRECIATION NIGHT Isn’t nearly every night at bluegrass-central Station Inn a tribute to the enigmatic, larger-than-life Monroe? Perhaps, but the club makes it official the first weekend of every December, when they turn the stage over to all stripes of acoustic players who, one way or another, draw strength from the fierce artistic commitment of the father of bluegrass. Full-voiced Kathy Chiavola and former Bluegrass Boy Roland White are among those appearing both nights. Friday includes eclectic journeymen John Cowan and Shawn Camp, bluegrass mainstays Missy Raines and Pat Enright and newcomers The Infamous Stringdusters. Saturday brings the raw mountain soul of Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, patriarchal son James Monroe, spiritual godsons Billy & Terry Smith, powerhouse singer Patty Mitchell and such well-regarded players as Mike Compton, Barbara Lamb, Butch Baldassari and jazz guitarist Van Manakas. The range of artists underscores the broad reach of Monroe’s influence. Station Inn —MICHAEL McCALL FRIDAY, 1ST FORGET-ME-NOTS Twenty years ago, Richard DuBois was playing power pop in the Murfreesboro group Shamalam; he’s back with a new trio that splits the difference between the ragged garage pop of the early Replacements he loved back then and the rootsy Americana he’s been listening to lately. Fans who caught Shamalam at Murfreesboro’s fruitfully decrepit venue Jabb’s back in the day are welcome to holler out requests for “Northfield Boulevard” and “Jukin’,” but don’t get your hopes up. Radio Café —JIM RIDLEY DIXIE CHICKS OK, OK, can we please just get past the Bush-bashing incident already, and get on with the music? True, Natalie Maines and Co. did bring a heap of criticism on themselves with their infamous antiwar comments, but they returned this year with an album that dispels any hopes that they’d go away quietly. Taking the Long Way shows the trio crossing over into bigger-than-country territory, matching their stellar harmonies with pop tunes. (Neil Finn, of Crowded House fame, even co-penned a song.) The album debuted at No. 1 on Billboard’s Top 200, and the resulting tour, titled “Accidents and Accusations,” has shown the Dixie Chicks’ fan base still firmly entrenched. Naysayers will fault the girls for cashing in on their notoriousness, but then, that’s always been part of the Chicks’ charm. This is a group, after all, whose first hit single, “Goodbye Earl,” advocated poisoning an abusive husband’s black-eyed peas. If nothing else, it reminds us that we still need hell-raisers performing on stages across the land. (dixiechicks.com) Gaylord Entertainment Center —MARK SANDERS FELIX WANG This cellist is probably best known for being one quarter of the Blair String Quartet, the prestigious quartet-in-residence at Vanderbilt University’s Blair School of Music. But he’s also a gifted soloist, a cellist with a sweetly burnished amber tone, and on Friday he will present an evening of French music. His program will include cello sonatas by Debussy and Poulenc along with Fauré’s Romance and Papillon. The highlight of the program will likely be modern French composer Henri Dutilleux’s Three Strophes on the Name of Sacher, a tribute to Paul Sacher, the great patron of 20th century music. Pianist Melissa Rose will accompany on this free program. Turner Recital Hall —JOHN PITCHER KENNY BARRON It’s not every jazz pianist who can command the stage as a soloist, but Barron is an exception. A former Dizzy Gillespie sideman, Barron plays the whole keyboard—indeed, he is an 88-key orchestra. He also has a seemingly bottomless reservoir of improvisational imagination and is a serious, stylish and swinging keyboard cat. Barron performs at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30. Call 242-5299. Nashville Jazz Workshop’s Jazz Cave —JOHN PITCHER SATURDAY, 2ND MOFRO Try to catalog all the music that has come out of Jacksonville, Fla., and you’ll end up with a list of ’70s Southern rockers—Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, and 38 Special—and a motley assortment of fleeting hip-hop, rap-rock and pop-punk groups—Quad City DJs, 69 Boyz, Limp Bizkit and Yellowcard, anyone? But you’d be hard-pressed to find a band prouder of their northern Florida roots than Mofro. (After all, Skynyrd sang about “Sweet Home Alabama,” not the Sunshine State.) JJ Grey and Daryl Hance form the nucleus of the group, accompanied by a rotating cast of bass players, keyboardists and drummers. Both of their albums to date—2001’s Blackwater and 2004’s Lochloosa—dip a toe into Southern rock on the way to environmentally conscious, harp-seasoned, languid swamp soul. Mofro mythology is populated with cypress, pine and palm trees, mosquitoes, alligators and loathsome land developers, all set to the sound of rough-hewn, waterlogged roots. Exit/In —JEWLY HIGHT MONDAY, 4TH GWAR It’s easy to assume most fans go to GWAR shows for the theatrics, which generally involve gallons of fake blood and other bodily fluids, grotesque costumes and antics unsuitable for anyone under the age of 18. But some actually go for the music. Their blend of heavy rock and metal isn’t quite as unlistenable as their imagery suggests. With lyrics about murder, gore and death, GWAR capture the bloody aesthetic they employ onstage, complementing the gruesome with raging guitars, throbbing drums and singer Oderus Urungus’ hoarse chants. The stage performance merely augments these already intense and thrashing songs, in venues that have to be covered in plastic to prevent damage. Exit/In —EMILY ZEMLER TUESDAY, 5TH MASHVILLE BRIGADE Spawned by a long string of backstage and picking party encounters, the Mashville Brigade (Ashby Frank, Greg Martin, Aaron McDaris, Jim Van Cleve and Darrell Webb) are young but seasoned members and/or veterans of top-notch bluegrass bands such as Mountain Heart, Wildfire and Marty Raybon’s Full Circle. To this newly hatched side project, they bring first-rate chops, a thorough grounding in the canon and, as the name suggests, a dash of brash, postmodern attitude. Their inaugural appearance is likely to rely heavily on the traditional songbook, but even though they can reproduce classic licks at will, the Brigade have a contemporary edge that should appeal to audiences too young to remember the music’s origins firsthand. Look for an especially energetic outing from underrated banjo man McDaris, pumped by the prospect of an impending move from a long tenure with Larry Stephenson to award-winning fiddler Michael Cleveland’s new group, Flamekeeper. The Station Inn —JON WEISBERGER SKELETON KEY A quartet of New York City hipsters, Skeleton Key make gleefully unhinged music propelled by angular guitars, careening rhythms, bizarre lyrics and junkyard percussion. Comparisons to Tom Waits, Primus, Lounge Lizards and other acts that walk the tightrope between art song and pop tunes are apt, but Skeleton Key, led by bassist/singer Eric Sanko, are their own weird and wonderful little carnival. The band have been hampered by lineup changes and inertia and, as a result, have only released two full-length albums in some 10 years. A new EP on Do Tell Records in 2005 and a slate of tour dates demonstrates this quirky band hasn’t given up yet. Onstage, the drummer pounds the junk and the rest of the band whip up a glorious racket. (skeletonkey.org) The Muse —WERNER TRIESCHMANN WEDNESDAY, 6TH CHEETAH GIRLS The Cheetah Girls exist in a few dimensions. They’re characters in a series of novels about a girl band, characters in a series of Disney-produced movies about a girl band and since the release of the films, they’ve become a girl band in real life. (Raven Symone, of the television show “That’s So Raven,” is the lead singer in the movies, but not in the real-life band that tours.) Though the Cheetah Girls are a Disney franchise, they aren’t buying into that Cinderella story. Their tween-directed sing-along of the same name encourages young girls to seek salvation in themselves rather than “some guy,” flat-out rejecting the fairy tale their mothers tell them while tucking them in. “I can slay my own dragons,” they sing. “My knight in shining armor is me.” Since when are little girls smarter than their mothers? Gaylord Entertainment Center —MAKKADA B. SELAH DANCE NUTCRACKIN’ Dance aficionados looking for a holiday alternative might want to check out this swingin’ hip-hop, jazz and rap version of The Nutcracker. Murfreesboro Parks and Recreation cultural arts coordinator Terry Womack supervises the production, which references the original story to some degree but is primarily a showcase for the choreography of Tammy Stevenson and Todd Johnson, who put their talented dancers through 80 minutes of toe-tapping entertainment. Presented Dec. 1-3 and 8-10 at the ’Boro’s Patterson Park. For additional information, phone 893-7439, ext. 33. —MARTIN BRADY THEATER JACOB MARLEY’S CHRISTMAS CAROL Tennessee Repertory Theatre has enlisted the directorial services of Nashville Children’s Theatre’s Scot Copeland for this reimagining of the Charles Dickens classic. The idea for this version, by writer/actor Tom Mula, was born in Chicago, where Mula performed the role of Scrooge many times in the Goodman Theatre’s acclaimed, high-tech annual production of A Christmas Carol. Here, Scrooge’s ghostly, be-chained business partner receives special focus and a semblance of dramatic redemption of his own. Copeland’s cast, including Henry Haggard, Brian Webb Russell, Pete Vann and Sam Whited, is talented and experienced. Set design is by Gary Hoff and costumes are by Trish Clark; Larry Schanker composed the original incidental music. The production, recommended for ages 13 and up, runs Nov. 30-Dec. 16 in TPAC’s Johnson Theater. Phone 255-ARTS. —MARTIN BRADY MRS. BOB CRATCHIT’S WILD CHRISTMAS BINGE GroundWorks Theatre merges the Christmas spirit with the company’s affinity for wacky comedy with this Christopher Durang play. Inspired by the Dickens classic, this story focuses on Bob Cratchit’s long-suffering spouse, who faces the kind of demons that drove George Bailey off the bridge in It’s a Wonderful Life. Melissa Bedinger-Hade directs a cast of 16 that includes Jervon Dailey, Jim Wright, Trish Moalla Crist, Michael Roark and Lane Wright. Performed at the Darkhorse Theater, Dec. 1-16. For reservations, phone 262-5485. —MARTIN BRADY A CHRISTMAS CAROL Lamplighter’s Theatre of Smyrna presents a straight-up version of the Dickens classic featuring special guest appearances by stage and television actors Lane Davies (Lois and Clark, The Practice, General Hospital) and Ruth Cordell (Ally McBeal, Alien Nation). Performances are weekends Dec. 1-10. For tickets and information, phone 534-0148. —MARTIN BRADY SISTA MIDNIGHT George Darden’s original play concerns one Stacey Storm, a vulnerable and confused 29-year-old who hosts a radio show about relationships. Stacey masks her insecurities on air by becoming Sista Midnight, a sexy, neo-soul alter ego. The radio gig thrives until Stacey embarks on a romance with one of her callers, who has a shocking secret. Playwright Darden directs a cast that features Brooke Myatt, Shawn Whitsell, Shani Robinson, A.D. Foreman and Narika Kendrick. Performed Dec. 1 and 3 at The Inspiration Centre, 2286 Metro Center Blvd. For further information, phone 525-6191. —MARTIN BRADY ART CECELIA KANE: “WAR STORIES” This show at Ruby Green brings together three bodies of work that deal with the war in Iraq and current events in a variety of unexpected media—a series of gloves painted with stories from the week’s news, dresses with designs based on words from the Congressional hearings on Abu Ghraib, and a set of sculptures and paintings called “Improvised Explosive Devices” that have pretty surfaces covering something more painful. For the glove series, Kane got contributions from 25 other artists. There is an opening from 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Dec. 1. The show runs through Jan. 20. —DAVID MADDOX HOLIDAY ARTS MARKET AND 10TH GALLERY BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION Each year, The Arts Company offers original art for holiday shoppers with a wide range of prices, including paintings, photography, pop-up books, cards and even some vintage toys. This year they are also holding an open house in honor of the gallery’s 10th anniversary, showing off new work by Herb Williams, Bill Johnson, Jim Hubbman and a group of six ceramicists. The Holiday Arts Market runs Dec. 1-23; the open house will be 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2. —DAVID MADDOX SUPREME AFFORDABLE ART SUMMIT The holidays always bring out affordable art shows, and no one says “affordable” like painter Steve Keene. In addition to designing sets and creating album and poster art for bands such as The Silver Jews, Soul Coughing and The Apples in Stereo, Keene churns out paintings as fast as Dubya racks up debt. (According to his bio, he’s sold 140,000 works.) His pieces pay homage to musicians, presidents and other cultural icons, and typically sell between $10 and $20, well within most holiday gift budgets. Also showing are Dave Warnke, who paints playful faces and beings that look like creatures from a child’s sci-fi book, Chicago artist Dolan Geiman and printmaker El Rey. Though presented by TAG, the show takes place Dec. 1-3 at Crystalwood Gallery, 514 Houston St. The reception is Friday, Dec. 1, from 6 to 9 p.m. —JACK SILVERMAN ROGER CLAYTON, KEVIN TITZER AND CHRIS DEAN Finding a new technical angle for art is pretty hard with the thousands of artists trying out every alternative imaginable. But Chris Dean seems to have found one in the lenticular technique, which produces such effects as the winking eye on a Cracker Jack box or changing messages on signs. Dean uses it on works that remix images from 1950s and ’60s science books. The other artists in TAG Art Gallery’s December show include Clayton, a painter who has absorbed strong Asian influences that guide the way he thinks about his lines and brushwork; and sculptor Titzer, who assembles creepy-whimsical figurative sculptures out of material he scavenges from the Ohio River and the area near his home in Evansville. The show opens with a reception from 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2 and runs through Dec. 30. —DAVID MADDOX ART AT THE ARCADE The holiday art season gets off to a great start downtown with a reception at the Arcade on Saturday, Dec. 2. Six galleries and studios will exhibit their art in December’s “Affordable Art Month.” Participating galleries will include (fov) Studio, which will feature work by its painter-in-residence, Danielle Duer; and Art Rogue, which will showcase the photography of Matt Mikulla. Disc Jockey Bob Nastanovich will provide the entertainment. The reception runs from 6 to 8 p.m. —JOE NOLAN MICHELLE ANDERSON AND JED JACKSON Anderson and Jackson received two of the Tennessee Arts Commission’s 2006 Fellowships. These two painters engage in subtle social observation from different perspectives. Anderson looks from above with aerial schematics that seem to trace social interactions. Jackson composes allusive works that bring together images from art history, the movies and propaganda posters. There will be a reception for the artists from 5 to 7 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 2 at the TAC Gallery. The show runs through Jan. 5. —DAVID MADDOX “SMALL PACKAGES 12” Cumberland Gallery rings in the holiday season with its 12th “Small Packages” exhibit in as many years. The popular holiday show features affordable sculpture, paintings, works on paper, photographs and prints by gallery artists and noted national artists. The show will also include work by Audrey Flack, who will have a large commissioned work installed at the Schermerhorn Symphony Center. “Small Packages” will kick off with an opening reception on Saturday, Dec. 2 from 6 to 8 p.m. The show runs through Dec. 23. —JOE NOLAN “FUNAMBULESQUE” Plowhaus presents its fifth annual holiday art and gift show. Always a good time, the cash-and-carry reception, 7 to 11 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 2, will feature holiday drinks, cookies, cakes, live music and a large group show that includes work by such local favorites as Franne Lee and Harry. “Funambulesque” runs through Dec. 24. —JOE NOLAN TELEVISION TENNESSEE TOWN SQUARES If you missed the premiere of Nashville Public Television’s latest documentary celebrating local and regional culture, catch the encore presentation this week. Tennessee Town Squares takes viewers to communities such as McMinnville, Wartrace, Collierville and Franklin to showcase picturesque bandstands, fountains and majestic courthouses. Local residents discuss the ebb and flow of local commerce, the need for historic preservation, and why returning to places where generations of families have shopped, worked and played is good for one’s soul. Indeed, the gradual camera movement that we’ve come to appreciate in NPT’s award-winning docs is a natural fit for the slower pace of towns like Jonesborough and Rogersville, which are presented from a variety of clever camera angles. Equally impressive are photographs and testimony documenting the 1999 tornado that devastated Clarksville. Channel 8 rebroadcasts Tennessee Town Squares 7 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 30. —MICHELLE JONES FILM BEFORE THE MUSIC DIES In advance of the FCC’s public hearing on media consolidation Dec. 11 in Nashville, the Prometheus Radio Project is screening this grass-roots sensation one night only 7 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 6 at the Belcourt. In Andrew Shapter and Joel Rasmussen’s documentary, artists ranging from Elvis Costello, Erykah Badu and Bonnie Raitt to Dave Matthews, Eric Clapton and Branford Marsalis testify to the grim climate of the contemporary music industry and its emphasis on marketability over substance, while the filmmakers build a case for the decline of commercial radio. Also on the bill: “Low Power to the People,” a 15-minute short about local LPFM station Radio Free Nashville, and a short piece hosted by Bill Moyers on radio ownership. For more information, see belcourt.org. —JIM RIDLEY NORTH BY NORTHWEST As exhilarating as it is blithely contrived, Alfred Hitchcock’s 1959 thriller uses conveyances of every size, shape and purpose—cars, trains, trucks and (in the showstopper setpiece) one inexplicably pissed-off crop-dusting plane—to bedevil, pursue and propel ad man Cary Grant cross-country in a whirlwind of mistaken identity. See it on the big screen, not just for Hitchcock’s wittily designed action sequences—including the famous closing chase across Mount Rushmore—but also for the trills and giddy flourishes of Bernard Herrmann’s playful score. At the very least, it’s hardly a chore to gaze at Grant and mysterious love interest Eva Marie Saint. The first in two weekends of Grant-Hitchcock masterpieces (next week’s is Notorious), the film screens 11:30 a.m. Friday through Sunday at the Belcourt. —JIM RIDLEY THE LATE SHOW: GREMLINS Is this the last of the Belcourt’s smash Late Shows, which have been drawing between 200 and 400 people every other weekend for some of the wildest late-night happenings in town? Let’s hope not: the series has succeeded in bringing new audiences to the historic Hillsboro Village arthouse, while becoming a magnet for creative crazies and cult-movie junkies desperate to scratch that “Truffle Shuffle” itch. (If only some of its regulars and promotional pizzazz could be directed toward the awesome but sparsely attended Weekend Classics series, or upcoming events such as the unprecedented “50 Years of Janus Films” juggernaut starting in January.) If this really is the final Late Show, as the theater’s website indicates, it’s going out in a flurry of furballs with Joe Dante’s 1984 sicko classic. Belly up to the bar for eggnog, or have your photo made with Santa (presumably before his tragic chimney accident) 11:30 p.m. Friday, with a repeat show late Saturday. —JIM RIDLEY