THURSDAY 8/9

Music

CORY BRANAN & BEN NICHOLS I don’t know if I’ll ever get over the way Cory Branan delivers the simple admission “I’ve got a crush on you” on 2001’s The Hell You Say. But in person, the former Nashville resident is more sly bravado than coy vulnerability—especially when he’s had a couple (or a couple dozen) adult beverages. That circumstance shouldn’t be in doubt as he once again shares the bill with Lucero frontman Ben Nichols—who’s written whole songs I just can’t get over. If you are a fan of either man, don’t miss this date: crazed Lucero fans, whiskey, soul-shaking tunes and the distinct possibility that one—or both—of the dudes onstage will end up face down in the parking lot. Debating between this show and Gillian Welch in the Cannery? You don’t have to. Welch tickets will gain you admission to Mercy, and the boys plan on starting late. 9 p.m. at Mercy Lounge —LEE STABERT

Having Fun With Elvis…in Jail

MOVIES @ MAIN: JAILHOUSE ROCK We may be nearing the 30th anniversary of the King’s death, but this surly slice of rock ’n’ roll glory refuses to die. Forget those movies where Elvis played fairground operators and befriended little kids; here he’s Vince Everett, a swaggering con who rises from hard time on a murder beef to the top of the pops, stepping on lots of folks in his way. For those who believe Elvis is still alive, this rowdy 1957 musical almost makes it so: you can picture a sideburned old gent watching this in seclusion at some jerkwater Texas nursing home, his lips curling in a sneer of perfect satisfaction. Don’t miss the “mystery guest” intro. 6:15 p.m. at Nashville Public Library —JIM RIDLEY

Music

LOST SIDESHOW Few rock bands inspire extreme levels of reverence and derision as well as The Doors. Was Jim Morrison a visionary misfit poet? A pretentious, drug-addled poseur? One thing’s undeniable: when people are still talking about you 35 years after your death, you’ve done something right. And unlike most of their acid-gobbling peers, The Doors were never hippy-dippy, and in many ways created the dangerous-rocker template still donned by the likes of Pete Doherty and Amy Winehouse. Lost Sideshow, a group of accomplished Nashville music veterans, assemble every year to exhume the spirits of Morrison & Co., and few groups—even full-time Doors tribute bands—can do it as well. 9 p.m. at Douglas Corner —JACK SILVERMAN

Film/Fun with Nuns

SCREENING NUNS DOUBLE HEADER PEEP SHOW: THE HISTORY BOYS The Screening Nuns, a flock of twisted sisters who call OutLoud! Books their abbey, have started a free movie night every Thursday at the bookstore’s Church Street café. Dedicated to queer cinema past, present and future, the August series continues with last year’s The History Boys, in which Richard Griffiths repeats his stage success as a quirky, brilliant instructor who influences (and gropes) his pupils at a stuffy academy. 7 p.m. at OutLoud! —JIM RIDLEY

Film Premiere

SUMMER’S MORN Halfway through their Extra/Ordinary Film Project—a they-said-it-couldn’t-be-done attempt to shoot and premiere 12 feature films in 12 months—Hendersonville’s Cring family continue to challenge all the big-talkers who complain they can’t get a film produced here. Cinematographer Tracy Nichole Cring steps into the director’s chair for Film No. 6, an all-female farce about an escaped convict who barges into the home of a Crossville woman, her mouthy best friend and her neurotic cat. 7 p.m. at Palace Theatre, Gallatin —JIM RIDLEY

FRIDAY 8/10

Theater

ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST Dale Wasserman’s play version of Ken Kesey’s infamous 1962 novel was last mounted in Nashville in 2000 by Circle Players. Street Theatre Company now attempts to find relevance in this curious yet exceedingly well-known period piece, which always guarantees meaty roles for actors. Director Cathy Street has enlisted some experienced locals into her cast, including Kay Ayers-Sowell, Clay Hillwig, Rob Wilds and Lane Wright. Shane Bridges, whose recent Nashville work has shown definite promise, leads the revolt at the insane asylum in the role of Randall P. McMurphy. Aug. 10-26 at the Looby Theatre —MARTIN BRADY

Psychedelic Soiree

VIC THRILL’S CIRCUS OF ENLIGHTENMENT FEAT. UNICORN Do you regret missing out on the arty insanity of Andy Warhol’s Factory parties? Wish you’d been around for the multimedia freakouts that were the Merry Pranksters’ Acid Tests? Well this week you’re in luck, because The Circus of Enlightenment, featuring ringmaster Vic Thrill, is pitching its proverbial tent in Music City. Billed as a “cosmic hootenanny,” the event will feature a set by Williamsburg fixture Thrill, who will sing and play guitar while navigating his laptop, a drum machine and a small arsenal of effects. In addition, Thrill will free-associate, wax philosophical and create real-time audio montages with microphones planted around the venue to encourage crowd participation—you’re not the audience, you’re part of the show. (Thrill’s friendship and collaboration with Hasidic rocker Curly Oxide is the subject of an upcoming film being scripted by Tina Fey and slated to star Sacha Baron Cohen as Oxide.) And beware the dawning of Unicorn, a Nashville improv prog-rock ensemble featuring Reeves Gabrels, Audley Freed, Hags Haggerty and Marc Pisapia. 8 p.m. at Club Roar, 710 Fessey Park Road; for directions, visit marcpisapia.com —JACK SILVERMAN

Musical Theater

URINETOWN Creators Mark Hollmann and Greg Kotis were both veterans of Chicago’s improv and experimental theater scene when they collaborated on this distinctly anti-PC, “grunge” musical parody. Urinetown got exposure at the 1999 New York International Fringe Festival, moved off-Broadway and then made the first of its 965 Broadway performances less than two weeks after 9/11. The spoofy, Brechtian concoction—with its ecological-disaster plot, pointed gibes at conventional musical forms and tinkling puns—went on to wow critics and garner 10 Tony nominations. Hollman’s music finds its essential spirit in Kurt Weill-like minor-key complexities, and the lyrics to songs such as “It’s a Privilege to Pee” and “I See a River” are laced with sardonic wit. Boiler Room Theatre presents the local premiere under the direction of Patrick Kramer. Leading players include Sloan Yarborough, Laura Marsh, Alan Lee and Daniel Vincent. Aug. 10-Sept. 15 at the Factory at Franklin —MARTIN BRADY

Performance Art

A DREAM ONCE LOST This ethereal fantasy by Nashville actress Tia Shearer is, according to the author, “a lovely, collective journey” of imagination and childlike wonder. A talented troupe of five (Shearer, Robert Marigza, Marin Miller, Evelyn Blythe and Phil Perry), enacting 22 roles under the direction of Matt Bassett, are preparing to take the production up to the Philly Fringe Festival (Aug. 31-Sept. 2). But before that happens, Nashville gets to preview the project at its birthplace, the Plowhaus Artists Cooperative, where the small ensemble has been prepping for its sojourn northward. The 45-minute show features original incidental music by Jordan Lehning (of the band Eureka Gold). Donations will be accepted at the door to help fund the road trip. 3 p.m. at Plowhaus Artists’ Cooperative —MARTIN BRADY

Music

SLEEPYTIME GORILLA MUSEUM Hearing about a band that defies categorization is like hearing about a politician who has hopes, dreams and ideas. In truth, it’s probably just a jam band that mixes three genres (hard bop, African rhythms, Cuban “flavors”) or a songwriter with a zany electric sideman. But no matter your familiarity with heavy metal, 20th century experimental composition or progressive rock, Oakland, Calif.’s Sleepytime Gorilla Museum are one of the few bands working right now that, at the very least, defy easy categorization. Combining some of the most interesting musicians in America (Carla Kilhstedt of Tin Hat Trio, Nils Frykdahl of Faun Fables) with Dan Rathbun’s intriguing homemade instruments and a backstory incorporating manics, Dadaism, Anti-Humanism, Futurism and fires, SGM is at once challenging, captivating and maddening. Their latest, In Glorious Times, is a little less metal and, at times, surprisingly playful, mixing broken funk, sinister choirs and industrial rhythms. 9 p.m. at 12th & Porter —GRAYSON CURRIN

Thrills and Quills

KILLER NASHVILLE There’s a bloody dagger plunged deep into the Nashville skyline. Fear not—it’s just the logo of Killer Nashville, a national conference of mystery and thriller writers and fans that hits Williamson County next weekend. Michael Connelly is the guest of honor at this second annual gathering—the creator of the Harry Bosch novels will sign books and answer questions at a dinner on Saturday night. At the conference, aspiring authors can sign up to pitch their novels to an agent and a publisher, and editors will be on hand to critique the first few pages of that as-yet-undiscovered manuscript. And if workshops and panel discussions with titles like “Writing the Red-Hot Killer Thriller” and “Plot Twisting: The Secret’s in the Secrets” don’t sound gripping enough, the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation will stage a mock crime scene where would-be Poirots can exercise their little gray cells. You must register a week in advance to guarantee a spot, but walk-ups will also be welcome if there’s room. Details are available at killernashville.com. Aug. 17 at the Franklin Marriott Cool Springs —CHRIS SCOTT

SATURDAY 8/11

Art

BAUHAUS @ PLOWHAUS Nashville’s longest-running artist co-op celebrates six years of introducing new artists and fresh, innovatively themed shows with its latest exhibition. The show title references the 1919 art and design movement in Germany, where artists and educators strived to bring good design and functional beauty to everyday life. More than 20 artists, such as Landry Butler, Carrie Mills, Bil Breyer, Heather Day and Plowhaus founder Franne Lee, have collaborated to “offer a new interpretation of an artistic ideal.” Opening reception 7-11 p.m. Aug. 11; through Sept. 9 at Plowhaus Artists’ Cooperative —BRITTANY CONNER

Fried Green Fun

FOURTH ANNUAL TOMATO ART FEST Do you like to hang out in seedy places? Enjoy getting sauced? Are you attracted to acidic personalities? Ever been hurled at a lame comedian? Well this is your lucky weekend—the Fourth Annual Tomato Art Fest splatters across East Nashville Saturday, with ancillary events from Thursday through Sunday. The festival has become so popular it’s practically the Bonnaroo of beefsteaks, bringing more folks to the Five Points area than at any other occasion. The fruit that thinks it’s a vegetable is the inspiration for a slew of activities: the Photomato Photography exhibit, the Tomato Art Show and Preview Party, the Tomato Parade Art Workshop (and of course the Parade of the Tomatoes itself), a Bloody Mary contest, the Tomato King and Queen Pageant, rides in a tomato-themed rickshaw, a sidewalk chalk art contest, a pizza contest, salsa dancing (get it?), oodles of food tastings and tomato-related specials at neighborhood restaurants, live music and of course our favorite, the Tomato Toss, where you can throw as many tomatoes as you like at the ReMax building. (If you can’t bring your own, the Farmers Market will be donating their unsellable tomatoes to the cause.) Haven’t you secretly longed to bash a Brandywine? Mangle a Moneymaker? Pulverize a Ponderosa Pink? Terrorize a Tigerella? Mutilate a Mortgage Lifter? (Yes, that’s really the name of a tomato variety.) Now’s your chance. Tomato Art Fest’s ground zero is Art & Invention Gallery (1106 Woodland St.), but events will take place throughout Five Points—for a full schedule, visit tomatoartfest.com. —JACK SILVERMAN

Film

HOME MOVIE DAY Sometimes the thinnest of lines separates the avant garde from the amateur, and nowhere does the line become less distinct than in home movies—strips of hastily shot celluloid that form time capsules of forgotten events, places and people. The first international Home Movie Day was held Aug. 16, 2003—that’s 8/16, as in 8 mm and 16 mm—and the event celebrates its fifth anniversary Saturday, giving backyard DeMilles and De Palmas around the world a chance to show their films to an audience. From 1 to 5 p.m. Saturday, the Country Music Hall of Fame invites everyone to come in and show their home movies—no video, please, just celluloid. “It’s incredible what people will come up with,” says Hall of Fame film archivist Kelli Hicks, who recalls seeing everything from topless tennis matches to cars going over cliffs during previous Home Movie Days. “Formats come and go, but film outlasts them all. It basically hasn’t changed in 110 years.” Arrive early at 10 a.m. for a tech symposium on preserving and transferring home movies, then stay for the films: both are free and open to the public. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at the Country Music Hall of Fame —JIM RIDLEY

Aaah! Godzilla!

SECOND SATURDAY SUMMER SCI-FI SERIES AT SUNDOWN: GHIDRAH, THE THREE-HEADED MONSTER From Ishiro Honda, director of the original Godzilla, Rodan! The Flying Monster and Matango: Fungus of Terror, comes the ultimate Japanese monster triple-header: a grudge match pitting Godzilla, Mothra and Rodan against a three-headed ass-kicker from outer space. (Men are from Mars, Ghidrah is from Venus—but only in the original Japanese version.) SEE! The rubber-suited apocalypse projected in glorious 16 mm on the Belcourt’s outside wall at dusk, along with cartoons and short subjects! BRING! Lawn chairs and blankets or watch from your car. ARRIVE! Early, as last month’s Plan 9 From Outer Space drew more than 250 people. 7 p.m. at the Belcourt —JIM RIDLEY

SUNDAY 8/12

Arty Party

CRAFT’S SUNDAY FAIR “Life is too short for ugly stuff”—not only is that a line used on me by an ex-girlfriend, it’s also the motto of local art collective CRAFT: A Creative Community. CRAFT will be hosting its monthly Sunday Fair Aug. 12 in the rear parking lot of East Nashville’s Lipstick Lounge. (In the event of rain, the fair takes place the following Sunday.) Among the works available: silk-screened tees and accessories by Mary Ink, drawings and paintings by Jeff Bertrand and Charles Bennett, soy candles from Angelight Candles and Elaine Ussery’s pine-needle baskets. After browsing CRAFT’s MySpace page (myspace.com/craft_creative_community), our considerable math skills have led us to conclude that the Lipstick Lounge fairs will take place the second Sunday of every month, while fairs at the Farmers Market will take place the third Saturday of every month. The organization’s mission is to provide handcrafted items and artwork at affordable prices, something we lowly alt-weekly journalists can get behind. (Attention Sunday afternoon bong-hit leagues: we went to the Sunday Fair a couple months ago and scored some of the best homemade chocolate chip cookies we’ve ever had… four for a dollar! Can’t promise they’ll be there this time, but if not, there’ll still be plenty of shiny, pretty things to look at.) 11 a.m.-5 p.m. in the Lipstick Lounge parking lot —JACK SILVERMAN

MONDAY 8/13

Music

PARACHUTE MUSICAL There’s a tinge of Stevie Wonder white-boy soul in Parachute Musical lead singer Josh Foster’s timbre. His quirky compositions don’t smack you senseless with glossy pretension—instead, they casually recall influences as disparate as Just Like the Fambly Cat-era Grandaddy and Scott Joplin. Foster packs enough musical language into indie-engineer Derek Garten’s crisp production to make even punchy ragtime throwbacks seem cool. With bandmates Kyle Cornett, Ben Jacoby and and Tom Gilbert in tow, this version of The Fray-with-brains plays 8 off 8th. With Kyle Andrews on the bill as well, this songfest is guaranteed not to suck. 9 p.m. at Mercy Lounge —JOEY HOOD

TUESDAY 8/14

Rock

AGAINST ME! The same cred cops who scoffed when The Clash signed to CBS in the mid-1970s threw a fit when Florida’s Against Me! signed to Sire in 2005—and they look just as fogeyish today as they did when Strummer & Co. used their major-label platform to issue “White Riot.” “I am looking for the crest of a new wave,” frontman Tom Gabel bellows on the title song of New Wave, Against Me!’s Butch Vig-produced Sire debut, and damned if he doesn’t deliver every song like a rallying cry pitched from the barricades, exhorting restless fans to take up guitars (if not arms) against the vapidity of disposable culture. His most potent weapon, apart from the band’s callus-thumbed sonic swell, is a clarion-call voice that gives his unusually articulate, borderline unwieldy agit-punk lyrics the urgency they demand. If their Warped Tour-honed sound lacks some color next to their scrappy early acoustic punk-folk, their blunt force compensates—courtesy of, in part, bassist Andrew Seward, formerly of local hardcore trio Kill Devil Hills. Gabel is too much of a conflicted-Hamlet frontman to grandstand without questioning his own motives and career advancement—he might berate a pack of gauche English-first “Americans Abroad” for their corporateering, but he’s quick to add, “While I hope I’m not like them, I’m not so sure.” Two Gallants and Gaslight Anthem open. 7 p.m. at Rocketown —JIM RIDLEY

Music

RUFUS WAINWRIGHT One of the most consistently frustrating and satisfying artists in pop music, Rufus Wainwright possesses artistic qualities that work for and against him in surprisingly equal measure. The majority of Wainwright’s success and failure stems from his trust in opulent sound, or, more accurately, his lack of confidence in his own small sound. His first two albums were more restrained as a whole, allowing occasional embellishments to shine brightly. They’ve been progressively bigger ever since, with his fifth and latest, Release the Stars, the most ambitious yet. Last year, Wainwright went to Berlin to self-produce the album, and the result—which includes input from sister Martha, Pet Shop Boy Neil Tennant, soul goddess Sharon Jones, famous-father empathizer Teddy Thompson and former producer Marcus de Vries—is massive and emphatic. The showtune-y production often cloaks awful songwriting, but when Wainwright lets his guard down and allows a song to build, as on the album-closing title track, he’s unstoppable. Neko Case opens. 7:30 p.m. at Ryman Auditorium —GRAYSON CURRIN

Music

NASHVILLE STATE OF MIND When Samantha Gibb trekked from Miami to Nashville for a visit at the end of last year, she was not only surprised to find a rock scene, but a pocket of artists and musicians within it who seemed to genuinely support and encourage each other. “I said, ‘People need to see what’s going on here,’ ” says Gibb, who, in addition to singing and playing guitar in her band M.E.G., is the daughter of Bee Gee Maurice Gibb. Gibb and company moved to Nashville at the beginning of this year to begin filming Nashville State of Mind, a documentary about the output and camaraderie among locals. “I wanted to capture the way you can have all these amazing musicians working together, helping each other, promoting each other. And they all go to each other’s shows and they’re singing each others songs and dancing in the crowd.” Uh, we don’t really know what she’s talking about either, but tonight’s lineup—featuring a host of singer-songwriters from the more optimistic trenches of Nashville’s rock scene, such as Steve Lee, Aaron Winters, Ricky Young, Katie Herzig and more—is the last show they’re filming for the documentary, whose release date is still tentative. (myspace.com/nashvilledocumentary) 7 p.m. at Mercy Lounge —TRACY MOORE

Music

CARY BROTHERS W/STARS OF TRACK & FIELD Cary Brothers definitely loves a good ballad—he bangs them out like prison plates, characterized by their lilting jangle and his wistful croon, ideally suited for lovelorn mix comps or indie romantic comedies. Of course, he got his break from the latter, when buddy Zach Braff included his song “Blue Eyes” on the Garden State soundtrack. His full-length debut, Who You Are, maintains the gilded Britpop gloom without tipping into Coldplay’s melodramatic pretense. Even better are openers Stars of Track & Field, who retain the moniker from their Belle & Sebastian-influenced days, but have moved in a new direction following the departure of their bassist. Last year’s Centuries Before Love and War maintains a lush warmth, and the band dips deeply into the ’80s for a synth-driven shimmer to match their shambling pop hooks. 9 p.m. at Exit/In —CHRIS PARKER

An Offer You Can’t Refuse

ITALIAN FILM AND DESSERT NIGHT: MAFIOSO Go ahead, recheck your schedule. You only think you have something better to do Tuesday night—when Nashville’s Amerigo Vespucci Society hosts an encore screening of this rediscovered 1962 black comedy in which a dapper efficiency expert (rubber-faced Alberto Sordi) returns to his native Sicily and gets embroiled in the local mob. Afterward, the party will adjourn to Savarino’s in Hillsboro Village for cappuccino and desserts. Tickets are $5.25 for society members, with food extra. You got a problem with that? 7 p.m. at the Belcourt —JIM RIDLEY

WEDNESDAY 8/15

Music

THE CHARMS This Somerville, Mass., quintet play amped-up power pop led by singer/guitarist Ellie Vee’s sexy squeal. Vee may try to scream through the “Wild Thing”-biting “My Friends,” but it still sounds girly and sweet, capping their grittier, garage-pop bottom-end like a cherry on a chocolate fudge sundae. There’s a little Cheap Trick in the pantry (“Touch”), a little glam in the closet (“Star Rider”) and an organ-fueled late-’60s blend of garage and British Invasion rock in Vee’s sashaying strut. Uber-producer Jim Diamond handles the boards on their latest, Strange Magic, giving the mix a punch powerful enough to knock down The Donnas. The Charms have been at it a half-dozen years, honing their craft and hooks to a fine-edged gleam, and their third release is a near-perfect baker’s dozen of old-school garage nuggets with a wicked allure that suits their name. 9 p.m. at Springwater Supper Club —CHRIS PARKER