LOS STRAITJACKETS WITH BIG SANDYTHURSDAY, 24TH

LOS STRAITJACKETS WITH BIG SANDYTUESDAY, 24TH

Surely one of the strangest Nashville musical outfits ever, Los Straitjackets have been wowing audiences with their musical virtuosity and carnival barker weirdness for more than a decade. The Mexican wrestling masks are a dead giveaway that something different is going on, but this time around, in support of their latest release Rock En Espanol Vol. 1, they’re traveling with the leader of Big Sandy and the Fly-Rite Boys, who’ll handle all the vocals as the Straits power through a veritable compendium of hits from Mexican radio in the ’60s. Selections range from “Hey, Lupe” (Los Rockin’ Devils’ version of the hit “Hang on Sloopy”) to a Mexican version of “Wild Thing” retitled “Loco te Patina el Coco” (rough translation: “Crazy Person Slides the Coco to You”). In between will be covers of such classics as Arthur Alexander’s “Anna” and a mean version of “Bony Maronie.” Let the rock ’n’ roll extravaganza begin. The Basement —WILLIAM MICHAEL SMITH

MUSIC

THURSDAY, 19TH

FRIDAY, 20TH

JOSH TURNER For an avowed Christian with a reserved personality, Josh Turner sure likes to gamble. His willingness to take risks has given him two platinum albums and a country music career as solid as his bedrock baritone. His best songs often break with Music Row convention: he’s sung openly about religion (“Long Black Train,” “Me and God”) and sex (“Your Man,” “No Rush”). He’s also taken on offbeat humor (“Loretta Lynn’s Lincoln”) and spoken of love in terms both apocalyptic and psychedelic (“Would You Go With Me?”). If more new country artists shared his sense of adventure, mainstream radio wouldn’t sound so predictable. Turner celebrates his success by recording a live album at country music’s mother church. Ryman Auditorium —MICHAEL MCCALL

FRIDAY, 20TH

THE PONYS Chicago indie-rock veterans The Ponys pound out no-nonsense rock ’n’ roll like it isn’t going out of style. Theirs is an old-fashioned trade: simple, ringing lead guitars chase back-feeding riffs around subtle vocals, with the odd keyboard or background vocal offering a little depth and texture. Their new record Turn the Lights Out is a return to the successful formula of 2004’s ace debut Laced With Romance. “Double Vision” is straight ’60s garage pop with a late-’70s attitude and a driving, archetypical Ponys chorus. The motif doesn’t change much in the live setting. What you see is pretty much all you get, but it’s also all you need. Like Nashville’s very own no-frills punk rock translators, The Clutters, The Ponys get considerable mileage out of their streamlined old-school approach. Don’t look for a lot of tricks or sleight of hand though, because The Ponys don’t really do that kind of thing. What they will do is rock The Basement, and loudly, providing a punchy complement to the drone rock and shoegazer hypnotics of Deerhunter. The Basement —ANDREW J. SMITHSON

FRIDAY, 20TH-SATURDAY, 21ST

RITES OF SPRING Unlike most schools—who can only muster two to three mid-range acts for their pre-finals spring flings—Vanderbilt has managed to compile a veritable mini-festival for their annual Rites of Spring. Two days of music will offer everything collegiate types—or bored Nashvillians who want to sit outside and drink beer—could ask for. There’s metal, indie rock, jamtastic grooves, sensitive singer-songwriters, Southern rock (of various pedigrees) and, in an attempt to match last year’s head-scratching crowd pleaser Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, hip-hop nostalgia act Naughty by Nature. Standouts include young Australian rockers Wolfmother (who wowed last time they were in town), Athens favorites Drive-By Truckers (playing their first local show since the departure of Jason Isbell) and The Whigs, hip-hop standbys The Roots and even a couple of local acts (Bang Bang Bang and The Dynamites). At only $40 for a weekend pass ($25 per day), and with over a dozen bands on the bill, this event constitutes a deal—even if you do have to wade through a sea of pastel and pearls to catch it. Vanderbilt University —LEE STABERT

SATURDAY, 21ST

KELLIE PICKLER Among post-American Idol releases, Kellie Pickler’s Small Town Girl could easily get lost in the deluge—especially since that other blond Southern country gal Carrie Underwood has emerged as one of Idol’s biggest success stories. But it would be a shame, because Pickler’s effervescent country pop shouldn’t be overlooked. While it’s clear that Pickler doesn’t have the vocal power of Underwood, Underwood couldn’t have sung “Red High Heels” with more enthusiasm—or with such a fetching twang. Of course, it isn’t hard to root for Pickler, what with her tough upbringing—the mother that left early and a father that’s been in and out of prison—but she’s jumped into show business with both feet and is apparently working on developing a sitcom. Here’s hoping it’s a runaway success. Grand Ole Opry —WERNER TRIESCHMANN

RWAKE Thanks to the success of such bands as Sunn O))) and Boris, the snail-paced, bass heavy subgenre known as doom metal has exploded in a big way in recent years. Though this particular brand of heavy metal largely crested during the late ’80s and early ’90s, a growing number of bands have been detuning their guitars and rumbling bowels along the way. What sets Little Rock’s Rwake (pronounced “wake”) apart from the pack is their ability to revisit the genre’s trademarks of ungodly heaviness and brooding howls while maintaining a distinctly progressive bend. Possessing a fretboard dexterity that’s often absent in many corners of the genre, Rwake is comparable to both Mastodon’s more epic tendencies and fellow Southern sludge-rakers Eyehategod’s monolithic assault. The End —MATT SULLIVAN

SUNDAY, 22ND

MONDAY, 23RD

CARRIE RODRIGUEZ This Austin native may merge Americana with jazz into something sultry and languid, but that’s where the similarities to Norah Jones stop. A fiddle player with a Berklee College of Music degree and a half-decade as the duet partner of Chip Taylor, Rodriguez stepped out front last year with her solo debut, Seven Angels on a Bicycle. It’s a striking work packed with sexual and surreal imagery set against a background that shifts easily from edgy atmospherics to stomping hoedowns. Her outstanding trio features guitarist Hans Holzen and bassist Kyle Kegerreis, both borrowed from Mark O’Connor’s band. She’s currently touring as opening act for Lucinda Williams, but she’s using a day off for a radio-promo club gig to be broadcast live on WRLT-100. 3rd & Lindsley —MICHAEL McCALL

BOW WOW W/SAMMIE & LLOYD It’s called the Price of Fame Tour, but the Growing Pains Tour may have been more appropriate. Ever since Bow Wow dropped the Lil’ prefix, his music has demonstrated an unwillingness to give up on the teen-idol status that made his faux gangsta poses so endearing to so many. Even though he switches up styles to a Southern rap flavor and challenges the “old rappers” to move out of his way on “Don’t Know ’Bout That,” he still brings the bubblegum in booty-bass wrappers on most of his songs from his last LP, The Price of Fame. The 20-year-old R&B singer Sammie is trying to reintroduce himself to urban music fans. He had a hit single at 12, and then wisely waited until his voice matured to release another record. He’s cultivating an image to match his smooth, Michael Jackson-like tenor, that of the more urbane soul singers of the mid-’60s instead of the played-out playa. Lloyd Polite is the elder statesman of the tour at 21. The disparity in age between Lloyd and his tour mates apparently makes a world of difference: everything on his record Street Love is more mature and assured, from his Gerald Levert-style phrasing to the understated, electronic soul of his backing tracks (reminiscent of late-’70s era Stevie Wonder), which saves his playa posturing from becoming cornball. Municipal Auditorium —MARK MAYS

MONDAY, 23RD

THE KILLERS The Killers’ Hot Fuss was a grand, arrogant, dancy gem. The Vegas quartet had perfected a breed of exuberant yet grim rock ’n’ roll that embodied the wily eccentricity, fast times and hard lessons of Sin City, and they looked the part: white suits, crisp guyliner, boyish good looks and swagger to spare. So, even if it wasn’t the most important rock music ever made, it was compelling, fresh and impetuous—and The Killers were one of the biggest bands in the world. Then, sometime between Hot Fuss and 2006’s Sam’s Town, frontman Brendan Flowers found black, Bruce Springsteen, facial hair and a whole lot of angst (and not the good kind). With a heavier sound and grander ambitions, the band’s melodrama became self-importance and Flowers’ posturing lost its sense of irony, as well as its sense of fun. Sam’s Town has its intensely catchy moments, like the rich, swirling chorus of the lead single “When You Were Young”—but much of the magic is gone. SOLD OUT. Ryman Auditorium —LEE STABERT

SOME KIND OF WEIRD PINK BREAKFAST CANDLES Maybe you young’uns don’t know the name John Hughes—in the upcoming In the Land of Women, he’s a punchline that shows how out-of-touch the 26-year-old hero is with contemporary youth culture—but you’ve certainly felt his influence. It was writer-producer-director Hughes, in ’80s staples such as Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club, who convinced teen moviegoers that they secretly moped to a soundtrack of highly marketable post-new wave tunes. (And you blamed Zach Braff.) Don’t you forget about him at this Nashville Film Festival shindig, sponsored by Full Service Music, where local bands The Features, Nite Nite, the Turncoats, Turbo Fruits, Happy Birthday Amy, The States and Mother Father take turns at being Simple Minds, the English Beat, the Psychedelic Furs and other Hughes soundtrack faves. Which lucky act gets to do Yello’s “Oh Yeah?” Bueller? Bueller? Exit/In —JIM RIDLEY

SUSAN TEDESCHI Tedeschi plays blues at a slow burn, emphasizing the sweet grit of her voice and the resonant way a slide guitar note can hang in the air like perfume and sweat. Since emerging from Boston in the mid-’90s, Tedeschi has taken her own sure time in releasing music. On 2005’s Hope and Desire, she chose covers instead of her tunes, but it advanced the same concise, impactful writing and tasteful soul-blues style of her originals. Her selection also exposed her influences and affections, as she interpreted back-catalog songs by Ray Charles, Iris DeMent, Bob Dylan and The Rolling Stones. She appears in Nashville about as frequently as she issues albums, which is to say this is a rare treat. Belcourt —MICHAEL McCALL

WEDNESDAY, 25TH

SOME KIND OF WEIRD PINK BREAKFAST CANDLES Maybe you young’uns don’t know the name John Hughes—in the upcoming In the Land of Women, he’s a punchline that shows how out-of-touch the 26-year-old hero is with contemporary youth culture—but you’ve certainly felt his influence. It was writer-producer-director Hughes, in ’80s staples such as Sixteen Candles, Pretty in Pink and The Breakfast Club, who convinced teen moviegoers that they secretly moped to a soundtrack of highly marketable post-new wave tunes. (And you blamed Zach Braff.) Don’t you forget about him at this Nashville Film Festival shindig, sponsored by Full Service Music, where local bands The Features, Nite Nite, the Turncoats, Turbo Fruits, Happy Birthday Amy, The States and Mother Father take turns at being Simple Minds, the English Beat, the Psychedelic Furs and other Hughes soundtrack faves. Which lucky act gets to do Yello’s “Oh Yeah?” Bueller? Bueller? Exit/In —JIM RIDLEY

SAVE BERNIE’S FARM BENEFIT Anyone who’s ever stuffed a damp towel under a dorm room door can at least begin to appreciate the fix that Bernie Ellis finds himself in. When the feds raided his 190-acre farm in 2002, they found, among other things, roughly 30 marijuana plants growing in the Tennessee soil. But those plants weren’t there to harvest for profit or as an aid to watching Aqua Teen Hunger Force. Ellis had been using marijuana to treat his own pain from degenerative joint disease and had been providing marijuana free of charge as a palliative measure to the extremely ill, which has been his custom for two decades. Proceeds from tonight’s benefit will go toward defraying Ellis’ legal costs, which amount to about $90,000, in the hopes of preventing the seizure of his farm by the government. Performers include smoky-voiced singer Jonell Mosser and guitar whiz Mike Henderson, Delicious Blues Stew and firebrand jazz vocalist Suzahn Fiering, who will be performing with a trio. The evening will also feature local and national speakers. More details on the case (and on medical cannabis) can be found at saveberniesfarm.com. Belcourt —STEVE HARUCH

THEATER

CHURCH BASEMENT LADIES Where would any church be without those marvelous ladies who slave over food for funerals, weddings, fundraisers and parties? They’re a ubiquitous presence in every denomination, so seeing them in this musical comedy will be like meeting old friends. This show, inspired by the humor writing of Janet Martin and Suzann Nelson, takes a humorous look at Midwest Lutherans. Under the direction of Curt Wollan (with music by Drew Jansen and a script by Jim Stowell and Jessica Zuehlke), this folksy piece played successfully to audiences in Minnesota before heading out on a 53-city tour. If it grabs Nashville’s attention when it opens April 19, then it’s scheduled to run through July 1. For tickets and information, call 255-ARTS (2787). TPAC’s Johnson Theater —MARTIN BRADY

THE DOYLE & DEBBIE SHOW Bruce Arntson’s laugh-filled musical satire about a cheesy, shamelessly cornpone country duo returns to Bongo After Hours Theatre for yet another extended stay. Performances are April 20-May 26. For tickets and information call 385-1188. —MARTIN BRADY

THE VISIT For its final production in the Little Theater, Belmont University’s theater department is staging this 1956 tragicomedy by Friedrich Dürrenmatt. The Swiss author, who died in 1990, was probably the last of the internationally known playwrights to be directly influenced by both Bertolt Brecht and the absurdist movement. Here, a wealthy older woman returns to her childhood home to exact a bizarre revenge on her former lover. Along the way, she also drags the townsfolk through a conflicting debate about justice, redemption and the common good. This is a student-driven effort all the way. Andrea Mangum Chapman and Jessika Malone direct a cast featuring graduating seniors Leah Jensen-Rader, Andrea Ridge and Jennifer Lewis. Performances are April 19-29. For reservations and schedule information, call 460-6199. —MARTIN BRADY

ART

FILM

JOSHUA WOLCOTT, “GOING TO HEAR” Sculptor Mike Calway-Fagen and painter Julian Rogers have opened a new gallery on Chestnut Street called SooPlex. Their first exhibit features the work of Joshua Wolcott, who recently finished his MFA in sculpture at the University of Tennessee. Calway-Fagen and Rogers plan to present different artists each month, in an arrangement that sounds similar to Hamlett Dobbins’ Material Art Space in Memphis. Wolcott’s show runs April 20-21, with a reception from 7 to 10 p.m. on April 20. SooPlex, 427 Chestnut Street. —DAVID MADDOX

JOHN FRASIER AND JACK SPENCER Frasier creates abstract compositions using pigment and graphite on paper. The quiet dignity and recurring vertical elements in these pieces recall the work of American master Barnett Newman. A new artist, Frasier is paired with the veteran Spencer, a photographer who manipulates images to give them an otherworldly look. The show runs April 21-May 26, with an opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. this Saturday. Cumberland Gallery —DAVID MADDOX

SCOTT TURRI, “POPPIES AND HEROINES” America’s obsession with sex and drugs was the inspiration for Turri’s acrylic paintings. Using abstract figures and poppy flowers as motifs, these glossy paintings are rendered with machine-like precision. Turri says his purpose is to examine the way sex- and drug-related stereotypes “contribute to a culture of excess.” The exhibit runs April 17-May 26, with an opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. April 21. Estel Gallery —JOE NOLAN

FILM

SAMURAI FESTIVAL 2 Unsheath your sword and prepare to slash like lightning. As savvy counterprogramming against the Nashville Film Festival (see this week’s cover story on p. 20), the Belcourt offers up a second round of its smash samurai festival this Friday through Wednesday. The attractions this year include an awesome double bill of Akira Kurosawa’s Yojimbo and Sergio Leone’s remake A Fistful of Dollars; Kurosawa’s excellent Yojimbo sequel Sanjuro; Samurai Saga, Hiroshi Inagaki’s 1959 reworking of Cyrano de Bergerac (with none other than Toshiro Mifune as Cyrano); and Hideo Gosha’s action-packed Three Outlaw Samurai (not available in the U.S. on DVD). Watch the kick-ass trailer at belcourt.org (and be sure to crank up the sound). Also, the opening night will feature sake and sushi for $10 while supplies last, and anyone who attends that night’s double feature in full samurai regalia gets in free. If you’re packing a sword, who’s gonna stop you? See our Movie Listings on p. 65 for more information on each film. —JIM RIDLEY

THE WIND THAT SHAKES THE BARLEY The Belcourt’s hot streak continues, as Ken Loach’s acclaimed drama about a medical student (Cillian Murphy) caught up in the violent dawn of the Irish Republican Army surprised everyone by drawing several hundred people last weekend. The film was supposed to leave Thursday, but the Hillsboro Village arthouse is hastily rearranging its schedule to add more dates. See belcourt.org for more details. —JIM RIDLEY

WILL SCHWALBE Most people have an email story—the snide comment misdelivered, the sassy reply that went to the whole list instead of only to the sender, the angry retort fired off in haste. At the least, you’re embarrassed. At the worst, you’ve lost a job or a friend. Since even Luddites can’t avoid email anymore, David Shipley and Will Schwalbe have written an informative and humorous guide through the pratfalls of virtual communication: Send: The Essential Guide to Email for Office and Home. The email sent by an employee of the company that manufactured fen-phen—“Do I have to look forward to spending my waning years writing checks to fat people worried about a silly lung problem?”—explains why the primer on email and law is worth the price of the book. Shipley and Schwalbe cover more mundane email matters, as well—from when not to email (firing someone) to what font to use (Americans prefer Times New Roman; Brits like Arial)—and they’re convincing when they argue that business and personal lives might run more smoothly if people could just learn to be better emailers. You might want to send one of those hated blanket emails recommending this book. The result could be 20 fewer emails demanding to know why you haven’t answered yesterday’s message yet. Will Schwalbe will appear at Davis-Kidd Booksellers at 6 p.m. April 25. –Faye Jones

TONY EARLEY Like sour mash and single malt scotch, books by Nashvillian Tony Early only come around every six or seven years, but they’re worth the wait. His 2000 novel, Jim the Boy, told the story a 10-year-old growing up during the Depression with his mother and uncles in a small North Carolina town. Not much happens there, which makes small things momentous. Jim climbs to the top of a greased pole for a dollar bill only to realize he was able to do so because the boy before him scratched off most of the grease. He watches from the bushes as a local salesman tries to propose to his mother. Such examples probably make the novel sound quiet, which it is, and maybe even cute—an appropriate adjective, too—but Jim the Boy is also one of the most perfect, sad little novels ever written. Earley’s story collection, Here We Are in Paradise, earned him a place on Granta’s 1996 list of the 20 best writers under 40. Eleven years later, Earley is middle-aged, but his work is every bit as fresh today as it was when it came with a comet tail of the author’s youth. Earley will discuss the literary life at 6:30 p.m. April 19 at the East Branch Library, 206 Gallatin Road. For more information, call 862-5860. –John Freeman

GAYDEN METCALFE Southern belles, steel magnolias, doe-eyed debutantes: what would the South export if not for these archetypes? Primers abound on how to live, hostess and smile the Southern way, yet few could live up to a title like Somebody Is Going to Die if Lilly Beth Doesn’t Catch That Bouquet: The Official Southern Ladies’ Guide to Hosting the Perfect Wedding. And with writers like Gayden Metcalfe and Charlotte Hays, this newly published nuptial guide’s got a shot. In 2004, the Mississippi duo published Being Dead Is No Excuse: The Official Southern Ladies’ Guide to Hosting the Perfect Funeral. The women are seriously funny, and their latest is a lot like its predecessor: a mixture of recipes for such delicacies as “Holy Roller Salad” and “Cyrilla Duprel’s Secret Wedding Cake,” history to accompany said recipes, and story after story of brides, grooms and in-laws so outrageous they’re nearly apocryphal. For Metcalfe and Hays the ultimate reference point is the Mississippi Delta, and their style is part Garden Club social set, part Bourbon-drinking good-time bride. Of today’s “nuptial blowouts,” they say, “We can’t help noticing that weddings are evolving into spectacles rivaling our beloved Miss America pageant—except not always as meaningful.” Hyperbole be damned, the stuff’s pitch-perfect. Metcalfe will read from her book at Davis-Kidd Booksellers at 6 p.m. April 23. –Lacey Galbraith