THE NOISETTESSaturday, 14th

Aptly named Londoners The Noisettes have xeroxed the Yeah Yeah Yeahs template right down to their showy undercrackers, but as their debut What’s the Time, Mr. Wolf? attests, it’s no exercise in mere karaoke. Although certain reference points are openly flaunted, singing bassist Shingai Shoniwa has a voice of her own—sweetly expressive with gritty, growly vowels delivered with disarming feeling. It is her band, and by all live accounts, her stage: her domineering presence ups the ante on their stock of speedy riffs and pummeled drum kits. Formed in 2004, The Noisettes seem to be unblemished by the overarching trends of the day—namely, they don’t have any post-punk or New Wave strands in their psychedelic rock ’n’ roll DNA. If nothing else, their soul-trash thrashing should prove a potent counterpoint to the more chilled, glam-pop swagger of much-anticipated headliner TV on the Radio. Cannery Ballroom —ANDREW J. SMITHSON

MUSIC

THURSDAY, 12TH

LORD T & ELOISE “Aristocrunk” combines the simplistic nursery-rhyme style of crunk with an inexplicable affection for the late Falco—ostensibly the rap music of those who would rather don Docksiders than Air Force Ones. The creators of this new style, Memphians Cameron “Lord T” Mann and Robert “Eloise” Anthony, take umbrage with rap music’s conspicuous consumption—believing rappers think too small, they want to show how players like Prince Charles and Dick Cheney ball. Gussied up like a cross between Morris Day and Amadeus, the two kick it private-school, along with their third eye, MysterE, rapping about stocks and yachts with a flow like Thurston Howell III. But Lord T & Eloise fail in the same way that a five-minute, one-joke SNL skit can become a crushing bore, and while their commentary is pointed, the criticism appears to come from an empty place. The gag is funnier if it’s conceived not as a dis of commercial rap but a mockery of trust-fund hipsters looking for a chuckle at rap’s expense. The anti-Bush song “Red Phone,” which namechecks Hurricane Katrina and Iraq, and the aristo-funky “I’m Rich” suggest Lord T & Eloise really are targeting the landed gentry for scorn. The Rutledge show is part of the CD release party for local MC Chance, whose hip-hop is served with a can of PBR and a side of Hank Jr. The Basement; April 16that The Rutledge —MARK MAYS

FRIDAY, 13TH

WILLY MASON Churning, restless songs rendered in minor keys set the tone for If The Ocean Gets Rough, the new record from the 22-year-old singer-songwriter discovered by Conor Oberst, hailed by Beth Orton, Radiohead and Pete Townshend and lent vocal support on “We Can Be Strong” by Rosanne Cash. Mason doesn’t flinch when he sings of people abandoning each other, nor does he shudder as he flays the alienation of an age that’s just seeing the hypocrisy of its parents. Instead, with his great big heart and voice like a twig scratching at your window, he reaches inside to encourage himself and his peers to carry on, believe in their inner resources and have a little faith. The wild and untamed shoreline, pastoral meadows and woods of Mason’s Martha’s Vineyard provide both refuge and metaphoric grounding on these songs for a generation. 6 p.m. at Grimey’s —HOLLY GLEASON

SOULS OF MISCHIEF The Oakland area crew Souls of Mischief created one of rap music’s classics with their first record, 93 ’til Infinity, an album loaded with bebop samples and witty lyrics, whose title track still sends B-boys into fist-pumping spasmodic fits. While Kanye West is open about the band’s influence, OutKast remain mum about strong similarities between their debut and SoM’s. If SoM pushed all that weight, where’s their VH-1 Rap Honors tribute? Rather than make a 94 ’til Infinity sophomore record, the crew switched styles, with producer/DJ Domino gamely attempting to forge a new path by introducing spooky trash-can beats and a harder style on their second record. Neither fans nor their record company were impressed, and SoM went underground. The band released records independently and sporadically, appearing on compilations with their Hieroglyphics crew or doing guest shots with other Bay Area stars. From ’95 ’til now, SoM has only released one other full LP, Trilogy, which featured the crew’s deft lyricism over lush, head-nodding beats. The Rutledge —MARK MAYS

THE HEART ATTACKS You can smell the leather from the first measures of Hellbound and Heartless. Like the Dead Boys feeding Eddie Cochran into a woodchipper, Atlanta garage-punk quintet The Heart Attacks play snarling, old-school punk with a touch of rock ’n’ roll classicism and a chained wallet of slinky, dirty grace. They put their money where their mouth is too: their hot-blooded irreverence manifested in 2005 when, after failing to secure a gig on Warped Tour, they followed the festival around anyway, playing in the parking lot and operating the popular “Pirate Bar” backstage post-show (covering their expenses). There they met Tim Armstrong, who appreciated their Dolls worship and signed them to Hellcat, releasing the aforementioned Lars Frederiksen-produced album in October. But attitude will only take you so far. What separates The Heart Attacks from hundreds of other pierced and tattooed love boys is their feel for the melodicism underlying their heroes’ punk rave-ups. From the terrific country-punk title track to the acrid, burning-rubber roar of rocket-fueled come-ons “You Oughtta Know by Now” and “Summer of Hate,” the razor-sharp hooks make it impossible to ignore this myocardial musical infarction. The End —CHRIS PARKER

BLAIR STRING QUARTET Ludwig van Beethoven was almost completely deaf in 1826, but that didn’t stop him from composing what is arguably his greatest string quartet. The String Quartet in C-sharp minor, Op. 131 is a marvel of musical integration and continuity—the quartet has seven movements, six distinct main keys and 31 changes of tempo, yet it flows from beginning to end as a seamless whole. The Blair quartet—violinists Christian Teal and Cornelia Heard, violist John Kochanowski and cellist Felix Wang—will perform this transcendent work along with Dvorak’s Quintet Op. 81 (with pianist Charlene Harb). Ingram Hall, Blair School of Music —JOHN PITCHER

SATURDAY, 14TH

CHERYL WHEELER Life-affirming, classic folkie Cheryl Wheeler doesn’t shy away from the complexities of life, love, relationships or the way they tangle. With her downy alto, wry lyrics and cresting guitar melodies, there’s a reason Wheeler remains a top-shelf brand among singer-songwriters: her willingness to put it all out there. Nearly a dozen albums filled with songs of her New England home, family life and her slightly skewed takes (“Estate Sale” ponders what’s left of a finished life with arched eyebrow) bind us through personal commonalities. But especially, Wheeler is an artist who views humanity as the most potent inspiration. Belcourt —HOLLY GLEASON

PHIL KEAGGY While the story of Jimi Hendrix calling Phil Keaggy the world’s greatest living guitarist is probably just an urban legend, it’s accurate to describe Keaggy as a consummate virtuoso. The Nashville singer-songwriter—who since his days with early ’70s power trio Glass Harp has largely inhabited the world of Christian music—handles lavish acoustic instrumentals, fiery solos (1994’s Crimson and Blue is one hell of a rock album) and a multitude of other playing styles with ease, and has written his share of quality, spiritual Beatles-influenced pop songs (an overused descriptor to be sure, but as his 1989 album Sunday’s Child and reedy, Paul McCartney-like singing prove, an accurate one). This show benefits the Norbert Vaughn scholarship fund. Vaughn died last year of complications from brain surgery, shortly after graduating from Pope John Paul II High School. 7 p.m. at Pope John Paul II High School —JEWLY HIGHT

BACKYARD TIRE FIRE/J.J. GREY AND MOFRO When Backyard Tire Fire—guitarist Ed Anderson, bassist Matt Anderson and drummer Tim Kramp—launch into their raucous two-beat “Tom Petty,” they’re making a tongue-in-cheek statement of intent that could easily be shared by a host of other jangly heartland rock outfits—“I wanna be Tom Petty / I wanna play a mean guitar.” The Illinois trio make a good showing on their third album Vagabonds and Hooligans with a batch of songs steeped more in a Southern ethos than a Midwestern one. With Country Ghetto, J.J. Grey and Mofro (it’s the first time frontman and primary songwriter Grey’s name has been moved out front) add horns and a chorus of gospelly backing vocals to their already feel-good swamp soul-blues. Songs like the chugging Southern-funk anthem “War” and the slinking, harp-seasoned title track—a statement about economic disadvantage across race lines—prove that adding a little something to their easy front-porch vibe can be a very good thing. Exit/In —JEWLY HIGHT

THE APPALACHIAN CELEBRATION: A CELEBRATION OF THE LIFE AND MUSIC OF DAVID SCHNAUFER Schnaufer, who died in August after a brief battle with lung cancer, was a giant in the mountain dulcimer world, having pretty much singlehandedly brought the instrument back from the brink of extinction. Raised in Texas, Schnaufer spent his mid-20s in West Virginia, learning the finer points of the instrument from mountain folk before heading to Nashville, where he carved out a career that included work with Johnny Cash, Emmylou Harris, Chet Atkins, “Cowboy” Jack Clement, Mark Knopfler, even Cyndi Lauper. Loved as much for his laid-back, generous personality as for his music, he became a Nashville institution, performing, recording, teaching and even earning a position as a professor of dulcimer at Vanderbilt, quite likely the only such professor in the world. The swiftness of his demise caught his friends and admirers off-guard. Now that the local music community has had time to come to terms with its loss, The Blair School of Music has dedicated its annual Appalachian music celebration to Schnaufer’s life and career. The evening features performances by Carol Ponder, Nashville Mandolin Ensemble, Nashville Dulcimer Quartet and many other musicians who at one time or another performed or studied with the man who once said of his fellow dulcimer players, “We play the sound of the ground we walk.” 8 p.m. at Ingram Hall, Blair School of Music —JACK SILVERMAN

PINK NASTY Sara Beck, who records and performs under the name of Pink Nasty, would do her career a huge favor if she’d move to England, become a sensation and then conquer the States, as is happening now with Amy Winehouse. As it is, Beck, a Kansas native now living in Austin, is flying under America’s indie-rock radar. But that can’t last for long. Her self-released 2006 CD, Mold the Gold, is an engaging collection of shaggy rock tunes that pivot around Beck’s compelling voice and emotions-on-her-sleeve songwriting. Just when you think Beck’s ramshackle tunes are going to fall apart, she pulls them off at the last minute. The best example is “Danny,” a bruising, bittersweet push-and-pull love song that feels like a sweet hangover after a memorable night of laughs and regrets. The Basement —WERNER TRIESCHMANN

DEWITT JOHNSON/GOSPEL “LIVE” AT THE BELCOURT Remember the B.C. & M. Mass Choir of Nashville, who performed on Ray Stevens’ “Everything Is Beautiful,” or The Johnson Ensemble, the choir that backs Lily Tomlin in Robert Altman’s Nashville? The same man was integral to the founding of both: gospel singer/pianist/composer DeWitt Johnson, who went on to lead a praise team at the late Bishop G.E. Patterson’s Temple of Deliverance Church of God in Christ (COGIC) in Memphis. He currently works with Nashville’s Cathedral of Praise COGIC and also records for the Hi Gospel label, home of the Rev. Al Green—but his main concern these days is his Touching the World Ministries, which airs a TV show on WTVF and its sister station Channel 50. This Sunday-evening TV taping and fundraiser at the Belcourt benefits his TV ministry. The Johnson Ensemble and the B.C. & M. Mass Choir are both on the night’s bill, as are Nina Jones, The Livingstons, Tony Ward & The Mighty Redeemers, Apostle R.T. Shipp & The Faithful Shipmates, the Gospel Grannies and many more. Sounds like a red-hot show even for the secular. The show starts at 5 p.m.; a $10 donation is suggested. —JIM RIDLEY

MONDAY, 16TH

ELF POWER Like any scene, Elephant 6’s coterie of artists (Of Montreal, Neutral Milk Hotel, Beulah, et al.) have grown up and apart, with few left practicing the old psych-pop magic. Elf Power is no exception, having abandoned both their fuzzy elliptical sound and the indies, respectively, on their two recent albums. Even before their major-label debut Back to the Web, Elf Power had begun to sidle away from their hazy indie pop on Walking With the Beggar Boys, embracing a clean folk-driven strum reminiscent of Reckoning-era R.E.M. Their latest employs a more lavish palette, with plenty of strings and instrumentation, like the shambling baroque pop of Badly Drawn Boy with a Southern twang. It’s pretty stuff, but the suit seems oversized on frontman Andrew Rieger, whose prior appeal was built around offbeat, if not completely oblique, little blurs of pop-shaped vignettes. Despite working a bigger canvas, Rieger doesn’t seem to have told the songs, which feel too constrained, padded out to their larger scope with more instruments rather than an expansive sonic vision. The fuller arrangements bury the hooks beneath the brooding texture, producing their least accessible album. Still, given Elf Power’s track record the last dozen years, there’s reason to expect a comeback. The Basement —CHRIS PARKER

DAVID KARSTEN DANIELS Daniels is part of a Chapel Hill, N.C., music co-op that includes buzz band The Prayers and Tears of Arthur Digby Sellers (with whom he plays live). Ambitious artful pop is Daniels’ game, and when he’s feeling particularly friendly, his aching tenor and the slowly blooming arrangements recall recent Bright Eyes albums. Daniels’ new album, Sharp Teeth, is suffused with warmth and gently swelling orchestrations. “Scripts” sounds like Sparklehorse suddenly mugged by the Band three-quarters through. Their ode to the “American Pastime” is Beulah as a Pavement-cover band, while the funny, blasphemous “Jesus and the Devil” panhandles along to a loping backwoods twang. Daniels’ creaky croon recalls Sparklehorse’s Mark Linkous, and he shares a similar penchant for darkly textured, understated ballads. He has a good feel for simplicity, adding instruments in spare doses like a dash of white pepper to awaken the senses as the song lumbers to its climax. Sometimes Sharp Teeth struggles for naturalness against Daniels’ more artful impulses, but the general austerity of the arrangements keeps them from clouding the music’s ample emotional impact. The End —CHRIS PARKER

ARBOURETUM Featuring former players in Bonnie “Prince” Billy’s band, Baltimore’s Arbouretum play lilting dreamscape rock with a dusting of roots influence and a throaty guitar growl. Their song “Sleep of Shiloam,” from the album Rites of Uncovering, begins like something from the Paisley Underground stripped down to almost nothing and played in painstaking slow motion—not unlike Luna’s dismantling of “Sweet Child o’ Mine.” But rather than settling in as a slowcore anthem, the song warps and tangles into a thicket of wandering guitar and drums that threatens to throw the whole decelerated operation into chaos. Imagine Mitch Mitchell playing at half speed. Just when it all seems ready to fall apart, it comes back together, as the song’s lyrics declare, “in dark majestic swells.” The End —STEVE HARUCH

TUESDAY, 17TH

ELVIS PERKINS IN DEARLAND On record, Elvis Perkins details the double-barrel blast of sorrow he was dealt when his actor father Anthony passed away from AIDS and, years later, his mother (Life photographer Berry Berenson) was killed on 9/11 as a passenger on American Airlines Flight 11. His debut, Ash Wednesday, is poignant and strangely pleasant for an album steeped in tragedy, but his muted delivery fails to overcome the darkness and transport you beyond his pain. But something happens to Perkins when he takes the stage with his band Dearland: those same songs become anthems of triumphant melancholy unleashed by new, exuberant arrangements. Perkins also leaves behind the record’s most dominant influence, Neutral Milk Hotel, for the more dramatic Celtic fervor of Mike Scott in his Waterboys heyday. His trio of multi-instrumentalists bring trombone, a marching-band bass drum, percussion and guitars, injecting his songs with the somber jubilation of a New Orleans jazz funeral parade. Cannery Ballroom; the band plays a 6 p.m. in-store at Grimey’s —JASON MOON WILKINS

EMANUEL AX AND EDGAR MEYER Some of the music on this dynamic duo’s program is so new that the ink has yet to dry on the manuscript paper. “I just added another minute to [the Duo for Double Bass and Piano] today,” says Meyer, the noted bassist, composer and Vandy music professor. “We’re still not sure how much of it we’re going to play.” For their Nashville recital, the duo will perform several other Meyer originals, including the evocative The Great Green Sea Snake and Please Don’t Feed the Bear. Ax, an eminent pianist best known for his work with a different string player (Yo-Yo Ma), will also join Meyer to perform an arrangement of Haydn’s Divertimento for Baryton. For tickets and additional information, visit nashvillesymphony.org. Schermerhorn Symphony Center —JOHN PITCHER

WEDNESDAY, 18TH

TAPES ’N’ TAPES Changing tempos with a sort of muscular grace, Minneapolis’ Tapes ’n’ Tapes stir up a righteous, insistent thrum of beats and high-end guitar squall with a casual demeanor that belies their sense of command, and how understated and engrossing their hooks actually are. Singer and guitarist Josh Grier’s high-pitched vocals and scratchy guitar parts land a shade closer to the frantic, textural style of alt-metal pioneers Dave Sardy and Page Hamilton than seemingly like-minded icons like Stephen Malkmus or Frank Black. But it’s drummer Jeremy Hanson who provides the band’s secret weapon: propulsive beats that allow the other players to indulge rhythmic confidence—something indie rockers shy away from way too much. Mercy Lounge —SABY REYES-KULKARNI

THEATER

MADAMA BUTTERFLY It’s one of the most memorable moments in all opera when Cio-Cio-San, a.k.a. Butterfly, insists that her absent (and quite frankly no-good) American husband Pinkerton will return to her—“Un bel die.” For its final performance of the 2006-07 season, Nashville Opera will stage Giacomo Puccini’s ever-popular opera about love and betrayal in early 20th century Japan. Mark Flint will conduct the Nashville Symphony with soprano Kallen Esperian in the title role. Stephen Mark Brown (Pinkerton), Frank Hernandez (Sharpless) and Jennifer Hines (Suzuki) also star. The opera, which will be sung in Italian with projected English translation, will be performed 7 p.m. Thursday, April 12, and 8 p.m. Saturday, April 14. For tickets and information, visit nashvilleopera.org. TPAC’s Andrew Jackson Hall —JOHN PITCHER

FIVE WOMEN WEARING THE SAME DRESS The title may suggest a chick-flick scenario. But since the writer is Alan Ball of the cable TV hit Six Feet Under, we can expect some sharp and irreverent humor in this story about bridesmaids at an ostentatious Knoxville wedding reception. The Volunteer State Community College production is under the direction of associate professor Dawn Larsen. Performances are April 13-15 at the Palace Theater in downtown Gallatin. For more information, call 230-3201. The play includes adult subject matter and some strong language. —MARTIN BRADY

GUYS & DOLLS Belmont University’s School of Music has a lot of talented young performers, so this mounting of the classic Frank Loesser musical about wisecracking gamblers and their comical lady friends might be worth investigating. Performances are April 12-15 on campus at Massey Concert Hall. For further information, call 460-6408. —MARTIN BRADY

COMEDY

BLIND LUCK COMEDY SHOW Hugh Mundy, perhaps the only stand-up comic in town who could get you off on second-degree murder charges, joins fellow comedians Robert “Lucky” Luke, the profitably named Heather Ho, St. Louis’ Carmen Barton and Tim Lyons with a guest performance by funk trio Podeci. It takes place Friday the 13th, so it’s worth the $10 cover just to watch ‘em flirt with disaster. The show starts 8 p.m. at the Belcourt. —JIM RIDLEY

ART

“SCAPE” One of the opportunities Ruby Green offers artists is the chance to collaborate—in this case, husband-and-wife artists Jarrod Houghton and Sisavanh Phouthavong have gotten together with Erin Anfinson, one of their colleagues on the MTSU art faculty. Anfinson’s most recognizable works are paintings of landscapes, which use a reduced palette to camouflage patterns and mask content. Phouthavong’s works deal with various kinds of enclosure (such as placing figures in what looks like an aquarium), while Houghton specializes in dioramas and faux museum displays. There will be an opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. on Saturday, April 14. The show runs through May 26. Ruby Green —DAVID MADDOX

FILM

MORE 50 YEARS OF JANUS FILMS: DRUNKEN ANGEL In which rising director Akira Kurosawa for the first time hires a volatile fireball named Toshiro Mifune and starts to write movie history. Mifune stars as a thuggish yakuza boss whose life changes after a gruff alcoholic doctor (the great Takashi Shimura, no less valuable a Kurosawa stock player) diagnoses him with tuberculosis. Should the gangster mend his ways, and should the doctor even treat such a vicious man? If you saw the top-notch High and Low a few months ago during the Belcourt’s Janus Films retrospective—or you’re gearing up for the theater’s second Samurai Festival starting April 20—don’t miss the origin of one of the movies’ most exciting actor-director pairings. It screens Saturday and Sunday only at the Belcourt. —JIM RIDLEY

“FEAR WITHIN” A murder victim’s cousin (Stephanie Vogt, whose credits include Entourage) confronts the terror she still feels during a night on the town in this short film by writer-director Lisa Lynn Parsons. Parsons will appear Thursday, April 12, at a benefit screening for Nashville Crime Stoppers hosted by co-producer Dion Rottman at the Belcourt. Special guests include Nashville Crime Stoppers president Dwayne Duhon and singer-songwriter Brittini Black, and there will be light refreshments, giveaways and a silent auction featuring a Gibson guitar and work by local artists Rob Hendon and Marjie Parsons. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $25; for more information, call 371-6465. —JIM RIDLEY

EVENTS PETER GURALNICK When it comes to documenting the history of rock ’n’ roll, soul, blues and country—hell, the whole of American popular music—there’s no one better, or more thorough, than Peter Guralnick. He’s written definitive biographies of Elvis Presley (the two-volume Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley and Careless Love: The Unmaking of Elvis Presley) and Sam Cooke (Dream Boogie: The Triumph of Sam Cooke), and his first three books are a holy trinity for music aficionados—Lost Highway: Journeys and Arrivals of American Musicians; Sweet Soul Music: Rhythm and Blues and the Southern Dream of Freedom and Feel Like Going Home: Portraits in Blues and Rock ’n’ Roll are where rock snobs go to learn. There isn’t a major journalist who hasn’t sung his praises: Greil Marcus, the legendary Lester Bangs, and even finicky Michiko Kakutani of The New York Times. Guralnick’s focus is the story, what happens behind the scenes, how an individual can rise, fall and influence the landscape. It’s American history told through song, and one reason his work holds such wide appeal. On April 19 at noon, Vanderbilt University and the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will host a lecture by Guralnick: “Cosmic Ray: How Ray Charles’ ‘I Got a Woman’ Changed the World.” It’s free, lunch is provided, and the installation I Can’t Stop Loving You: Ray Charles and Country Music is currently on exhibit at the museum, so reservations are a must. Call 322-8585 or email cngr@vanderbilt.edu. Ford Theater, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum; free lunch boxes available at 11:30 a.m. —LACEY GALBRAITH