Robison doesn’t get half the attention that his loud-mouthed brother Charlie or dulcet-voiced spouse Kelly Willis do, but he’s got the goods on the both of them: a tender tenor that cracks like the second coming of Gram Parsons, a sharp eye and ear as a writer, and a persona bereft of the testosterone-fueled bullshit that makes cartoons of most of his second-generation, Texas singer-songwriter peers. Witness “Friendless Marriage,” a duet from his iridescent Country Sunshine album in which Robison and Willis play a couple who stick together for all the right and wrong reasons. Opening for Robison at the Exit/In is Lonesome Bob, perhaps the smartest, funniest, most trenchant and rockin’ twang-banger in Nashville’s heady alt-country underground. He’ll be showcasing material from the forthcoming Things Change, his monumental follow-up to Things Fall Apart, his 1997 debut.
B.F.W.
Thursday, 8th
Dirty Dozen Brass Band They’ve become a popular area attraction in the past few months, but anyone who’s missed past appearances by the Dirty Dozen Brass Band shouldn’t pass on a chance to catch the finest Crescent City marching ensemble in existence. The DDBB dates back to the late ‘80s, when drummer Lionel Batiste assembled some family members and instrumentalist colleagues for marches through the African American communities of New Orleans dressed in drag and accompanied by a group of courtesans called the Baby Dolls. These antics proved so popular that the DDBB emerged—a freewheeling ensemble that played everything from stomps and blues to rags, Sousa marches, bop and funk. This remains their charm and appeal. The DDBB don’t engage in lengthy monologues about the jazz tradition, they embody it during each and every performance. They’ll be appearing with Ulu at 328 Performance Hall.
R.W.
David Liebman This saxophonist and flutist emerged during the early ‘70s as a flashy, versatile soloist able to effectively contribute to pioneering jazz-rock groups like Ten Wheel Drive and also hold his own working with Miles Davis’ dynamic fusion ensemble and Elvin Jones’ more traditional hard bop bands. But he made his mark as a leader during the ‘80s and ‘90s, heading impressionistic quartets and cutting fantastic sessions such as Open Sky and Lookout Farm. He’s never been afraid to experiment, mix acoustic and electric instrumentation or combine jazz, rock, African and Latin influences. Liebman appears at the Wright Music Building at Middle Tennessee State University. For more information, call 898-2919.
R.W.
R.B. Morris/Malcolm Holcombe Hard to imagine a more literate and more intense double bill than this pairing of latter-day bards from Appalachia. Both sing, write, and play as if their lives depended on it, which I suspect they do. Morris and Holcomb bring their songbags and crack bands to 12th & Porter.
B.F.W.
Vassar Clements There’s no way to put it much better than “Connie White” did in Robert Altman’s Nashville. Introducing this veteran fiddle player, she simply said, “Here’s the best, here’s Vassar.” The best will be sawing away at Douglas Corner Cafe.
Thursday, 8th-Saturday, 10th
Slow Bar/Rage First Anniversary Celebration feat. Even More Guilty Pleasures Has it really been a year since Dave Gehrke and Mike Grimes opened their East Nashville watering hole—or has it really been only a year? Like any great neighborhood pub, the Slow Bar seemed like a permanent fixture within a week of its opening. Now it’s helping to turn East Nashville’s Little Five Points into the most happening place in town. The bar celebrates its first anniversary with Thursday-night performances by Ben Vaughn and the Jaguars, a Friday-night show by the Jaguars and a Saturday reprise of the venue’s increasingly popular “Guilty Pleasures” theme night—in which some of the city’s hottest club acts expose themselves to ridicule by singing their secret faves, from “Total Eclipse of the Heart” to “Safety Dance.” Happy anniversary, Gehrke and Grimey.
J.R.
Friday, 9th
Josh Rouse/The What Four Sure, you can miss seeing Rouse now—so you can tell people for the next 10 years how you could have seen him play at a club, but you opted to stay home watching The Golden Girls. His new album won’t be out until next year, but the stopgap Bedroom Classics EP he’s been selling at shows is a quiet marvel that encompasses bossa nova and stark semi-autobiographical balladry. Not only that, his song “Directions” underscores a key scene in the upcoming Tom Cruise movie Vanilla Sky—further proof of director Cameron Crowe’s musical acumen—and he wound up on the soundtrack album alongside the likes of Paul McCartney and Radiohead. And did we mention we heard his song “Dressed Up Like Nebraska” playing over the speakers at Kroger? Rouse performs at 12th & Porter with the awesome What Four, whose dreamy Brian Wilson-worthy “Ears to the Ground” gets covered on the headliner’s next record.
J.R.
Les Kerr Although he’s a solid vocalist and performer on blues numbers, Kerr is also right at home doing New Orleans R&B, Cajun tunes and even country. His appealing sound and energetic manner will be on display for an afternoon appearance at the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum. Things get underway at 1:30 p.m.
R.W.
Charlie Mars Texas-raised, Georgia-based singer-songwriter Mars has captivated audiences across the Southeast with his simple roots-rock, and with good reason—his songs are unspectacular, but fundamentally likable and honest. Mars’ three independently released records have sold upwards of 20,000 copies, which isn’t bad for a non-jam-band. He’ll be bringing his polished twang ‘n’ roll to the Exit/In.
N.M.
Jerry Springer Yes, that would be the Jerry Springer. When the ringmaster of trash TV’s biggest spectacle isn’t busy emceeing staged fights between bogus inbreds, he moonlights as a country singer. Springer will showcase his musical stylings at the Bluebird Cafe, where he’ll also sell memorabilia to benefit the World Trade Center relief fund. Limited tickets are available for the 6 p.m. show, and afterward (around 8 p.m.) Springer will host an autograph signing and photo session. It’s the next best thing to Mel Diburpho. Call 383-5308 for more information.
J.R.
King Crimson/John Paul Jones A night of high-minded classic rock at 328 Performance Hall, starting with former Led Zeppelin bassist John Paul Jones (also an in-demand string arranger and hard rock producer). Headlining will be King Crimson, the restlessly experimental guitar-based collective whose music has ranged from lengthy, ponderous instrumentals to poly-rhythmic dance experiments.
Saturday, 10th
Ardoin Family Band The name Ardoin dates back to the ‘30s in zydeco music circles. Amedee Ardoin was among the genre’s first great accordionists and his collaborations with white fiddler Dennis McGee tremendously influenced numerous zydeco and Cajun artists. His cousin Alphonse Ardoin had similar pioneering sessions with Canray Fontenot, and the tradition has been passed on to his grandson, Chris Ardoin, a superb accordionist more attuned to the vintage style than the rock-oriented newer sounds. The Ardoin Family Band have maintained the heritage and history of zydeco, updating it just enough to keep things alive without deserting the foundation. The group appears at the VFW Post 1291, 1907 Lebanon Road; before their gig begins, there will be zydeco dance lessons at 7 p.m.
R.W.
Raul Malo/Quinn Loggins and the In Between Two great musical acts perform for two great causes at the Belcourt Theatre. Malo and Loggins will perform a 7 p.m. show benefiting Nashville’s Table’s Empty Bowls Project, an international hunger-relief effort, and after that, they’ll play a 9:30 p.m. show benefiting the theater itself. Malo—best known for his work as lead singer of The Mavericks—is sure to amaze with his eclectic, Latin-influenced solo work. Opening act Loggins is an up-and-comer with a powerful, soul-infused style. An advocate for the fight against hunger, he has collaborated with Greg Barnhill to write a song entitled “Empty Bowls,” which he will perform at the 7 p.m. show. All proceeds from the event will be donated to these two worthy causes. For tickets or more information, contact Nashville’s Table at 244-4564 or the Belcourt at 383-9140.
Sunday, 11th
Pernice Brothers/Starch Martins Romantic melancholy and mortal despair have rarely sounded as peppy—or as appealing—as they do on The World Won’t End, the luscious latest album from former Scud Mountain Boy Joe Pernice and his six-piece outfit. Imagine the Left Banke with less harpsichord and more muscle—or better still, imagine what kind of cushy, bouncy sonic lushness would have nursed you through your worst college break-up. The Slow Bar is the perfect setting for their show with Midwestern stars-in-the-making the Starch Martins, whose twang-and-jangle pop evokes a top-down drive on a cool summer night.
J.R.
Dispatch This Boston trio bridges the gap between the funk-rock, rage-rock and nu-metal movements; in five-plus years of existence, they’ve immersed themselves in just about whatever hot genre that has come about, first as One Fell Swoop and now with the unmemorable one-word band name that is the necessary accessory for middlin’ modern rockers. But they reportedly have a smokin’ live show, which they’ll be putting on at 328 Performance Hall.
N.M.
Al DeLory DeLory has been championing Afro-Latin rhythms and music in Nashville for many years, and he deserves praises for serving as an advocate before the advent of the Buena Vista Social Club, Marc Anthony, et al. He’s also adaptable, and this week he takes the Latin beat to a new locale—the Jazz@Bellevue Center local artists series—for a 1 p.m. performance.
R.W.
Monday, 12th
Jerry Douglas & Friends—A Benefit for Josh Graves True to its name, Gibson Bluegrass Showcase hosts a night of performances by some of the genre’s current masters, all playing on behalf of Dobro legend Josh Graves (still unable to work due to poor health and the loss of a leg). Fellow Dobro specialist Jerry Douglas hosts, and gets help from the likes of Graves’ old boss, Earl Scruggs, the sweet-voiced mountain family The Whites, in-demand guitarist Ron Block, new traditionalist quintet Blue Highway, and Alison Krauss + Union Station, whose latest album New Favorite is one of the most dynamic and lovely records of the year in any genre.
N.M.
Harlow One of the great mysteries on VH1’s Bands on the Run series—besides how lazy shoegazers Flickerstick beat those energetic hustlers in Soulcracker—is how this quartet of female noisemakers moved any product at all. They’re from the thudding, dissonant, Courtney Love school of punk, where attitude and teaser sexuality is supposed to make up for lack of melodicism and inability to play. At any rate, they’ll be returning to our fair city to perform at The End, if you want to see some people who’ve been on TV.
N.M.
Tuesday, 13th
Mike Eldred & Friends Eldred has carved out a solid niche for himself as Nashville’s musical-theater boy wonder. With his appearances in Frank Wildhorn’s The Civil War, Marcus Hummon’s Francis of Guernica, and Tennessee Repertory Theatre’s recent production of West Side Story, Eldred has parlayed his strong yet graceful tenor and his appealing good looks into local stardom. He has also recently released a new, cleanly produced and oh-so-listenable CD, ME, on Velvet Armadillo Records, featuring his favorite tunes from the aforementioned and other Broadway shows. Eldred showcases his talents, and those of musical friends such as Hummon, songwriter Mike Reid (“I Can’t Make You Love Me”) and Sylvia Hutton, at the Belcourt Theatre in a concert fundraiser to benefit Planned Parenthood of Middle & East Tennessee. For ticket information, call 277-1466.
M.B.
The Paladins The Paladins may be the only blues-influenced band that has ever recorded on 4AD records, a label more associated with indie rock. But the trio of guitarist Dave Gonzalez, bassist Tom Yearsley and drummer Jeff Dunavan have always prided themselves on musical independence and a sound that meshes rockabilly, jump blues, funk and soul. They made two albums for Alligator in the late ‘80s, but the trio’s never been comfortable with the mainstream blues community even though they certainly reflect blues elements in their core approach. The West Coast trio play The Sutler.
R.W.
Curt Kirkwood As guitarist and singer for the legendary Meat Puppets, Kirkwood helped pioneer a strain of eclectic/weirdo alt-rock that was equal parts punk slop and ancient Americana. The group’s brilliant work won a number of way-up fans, including Nirvana, who performed three of their songs on the much-hallowed MTV Unplugged special. Not satisfied with being solely a grunge icon though, Kirkwood has been doing a number of highly praised solo acoustic dates in recent months; when he makes his way to 12th & Porter, expect to hear more of what we’ve come to love: bitter, funny and highly imaginative punk-folk balladry by a true master of the form.
W.T.
Big Al & The Heavyweights They’re a proven popular attraction and one of the finest rocking blues and R&B bands that have emerged from New Orleans over the past few years. They’ve even recorded in Nashville before, and they’re returning to a favorite spot—The Bourbon Street Blues & Boogie Bar.
R.W.
Wednesday, 14th
The Ground Zero Get Down Tour feat. Fishbone & Blowfly The funk-metal hybrid band Fishbone has always veered so far off any conventional course that they make record companies jumpy and keep fans off-balance. They’ve toured with Dead Kennedys, collaborated with the Jungle Brothers and performed songs by everyone from Curtis Mayfield to David Bowie. The lineup was reconfigured early last year, but from all reports the group are still doing their idiomatic mixing and matching. Southern soul singer Clarence Reid has made some nice R&B albums as a vocalist, but in the persona of Blowfly, his comic rants, X-rated monologues and blistering social observations have made him a worthy rival to Dolemite on the black comedy circuit. Doctor Mad Vibe and Dirty Walt and the Columbus Sanitations round out what is being billed as an all-ages show at 328 Performance Hall.
R.W.
Fred Eaglesmith/Oh Susannah Eaglesmith often gets dubbed Canada’s answer to Robert Earl Keen, but he’s better than that; at their best, his gritty, desperate originals smack more of Steve Earle and Nebraska-era Bruce Springsteen. Eaglesmith and his band, the Flying Squirrels, tour relentlessly, and it shows: His brooding sets are riveting and loaded with epiphanies. Joining him at The End is Oh Susannah, the brainchild of fellow Canadian Suzie Ungerleider, a dusky-voiced singer-songwriter with a soulful twist. Not to be missed is her astonishing “River Blue,” a naked profession of sisterly love. Oh Susannah also plays Tuesday as part of the Western Beat Roots Revival at the Exit/In.
B.F.W.
CHARLIE HUNTER/ROBERT WALTER’S 20TH CONGRESS Hunter’s numerous Blue Note releases are inventive, infectious and groundbreaking in purely musical terms. But witnessing a live performance—he plays the seemingly independent bass and guitar parts simultaneously on his specially designed eight-string guitar—is truly mind-boggling. But it’s no gimmick. Hunter only plays to serve the greater good of the music, and the demands of his dual roles cause him to play more sparingly, and thus less busily, than most guitarists and bassists that populate the funk-jazz universe. His compositions groove relentlessly, yet are filled with the empty spaces that are essential to a truly transcendent pocket. His latest Blue Note date, Songs From the Analog Playground, is his first to feature vocals, courtesy of guests Mos Def, Theryl De’Clouet, Norah Jones and Kurt Elling. Catch him at the Exit/In. And get there early for Robert Walter’s 20th Congress. Keyboardist Walter is an emerging talent on the soul-jazz circuit. His latest release, There Goes the Neighborhood, features funk luminaries and—without being self-consciously retro—explores the spectrum of old-school funk and soul. If the CD is any indication of his live show, Walter might even be up to the daunting task of getting a Nashville audience to shake their collective groove thang.
J.S.
Ozzy Osbourne/Rob Zombie If horror metal can be said to have an urbane representative, it’s Ozzy, who has settled with droll aplomb into the role of shock-rock elder statesman. And if he’s horror metal’s Vincent Price, his cohort Rob Zombie is its Leatherface—a trash-culture omnivore who feeds aggro, splatter movies and Psychotronic back issues into his audio woodchipper. (We can’t wait for his House of 1,000 Corpses feature, which the pusses in Hollywood still won’t unleash.) The bashful gents bring their “Night of Merry Mayhem” to Gaylord Entertainment Center with special guests Mudvayne and SOIL.
J.R.
Wes Cunningham It’s about time we heard from Cunningham, whose hit 1997 LP 12 Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking had some of the wiseguy wit and barbed popcraft of Nick Lowe’s early records. Cunningham performs new material at the Heineken Ampt Music Series at 12th & Porter with hue and Rob Giles.
Film
The Puppetmaster For moviegoers who like a challenge—and I’ll stack Nashville’s hardcore cinephiles against anybody’s—this is an adventure on the order of unguided whitewater rafting. Hou Hsiao-hsien’s 1993 film is tough viewing, sure—especially the first time around, when its fracturing of time, incident, 20th-century Taiwanese history, and reality is intensely hard to follow. To help, we have limited copies of an indispensable viewer’s guide/fanzine published by teenage Chicago critic Gabe Klinger, who literally watched the movie before bed for a month. Klinger provides historical context, biographical notes and most helpful of all, a scene-by-scene synopsis of the storyline. For a copy, just e-mail me at mr.pinkArts:Film">this week's film story.
J.R.
Session 9 Haunted-house scares in Hi-Def! Brad Anderson’s terror tale plunges a five-man clean-up crew (including David Caruso and Peter Mullan) into the bowels of a decrepit asylum, where the men find worse things to fear than bad vibes. The chiller opens Friday at the Belcourt.
J.R.
Nostalghia This beautifully photographed 1983 film—an account of a Russian poet’s sojourn in Italy and his detachment from his homeland—was the first directed outside the Soviet Union by Russian filmmaker Andrei Tarkovsky. It screens on video, free and open to the public, 7 p.m. Friday at the Watkins Film School.
J.R.
Fighter In 1941, a Czech Jew named Jan Wiener made a bold escape from Nazi-occupied Prague and fought his way to England. At age 78, he retraces his escape route with a fellow Czech survivor, Arnost Lustig, in this gripping and startlingly funny documentary by Amir Bar-Lev, who shows the men’s friendship unraveling and growing more complex under the conditions of the trip. A fine companion piece to last week’s Nashville Jewish Film Festival, the movie opens Friday for a one-week run at the Belcourt.
J.R.
Gallipoli Mad Max introduced Mel Gibson to American audiences, but it was his role in Peter Weir’s devastating 1981 war drama that showed his range as an actor. Gibson plays an Australian sprinter at the World War I battle of Gallipoli, where callous British commanders used the Aussies as cannon fodder to conserve their own men. The film continues the Belcourt’s weekend Veterans’ Day matinees throughout November; coming films include Patton and Casablanca.
J.R.
Heist With a cool billion in bullion at stake, can master crooks Gene Hackman and Danny DeVito resist the temptation to screw each other over? Probably not, with writer-director David Mamet pulling the strings. Delroy Lindo, Ricky Jay, Rebecca Pidgeon, and Sam Rockwell co-star in Mamet’s caper thriller, which starts Friday.
J.R.
Brigham City In the follow-up to his successful indie feature God’s Army, writer-director Richard Dutcher stars as a Mormon sheriff forced to confront evil in the guise of a serial killer terrorizing his town. The drama starts Friday at Opry Mills. Other indie films opening this week include Haiku Tunnel, a comedy about a temp worker who gets a taste of full-time office culture; and The Adventures of Felix, in which a gay French soap-opera fan sets out to find his biological father. Both are at Green Hills.
J.R.
Relax, It’s Just Sex P.J. Castellaneta’s seriocomic ensemble piece gets a screening 7 p.m. Sunday at the Rainbow Community Center as part of the new Nashville GLBT Film Group. For more information, call 297-0008 or contact nashglbtfilmgroup@hotmail.com.
DVD/VIDEO
Emmet Otter’s Jug-Band Christmas/A Muppet Family Christmas The films and TV specials from Jim Henson’s production company never have anything extra when they make it to DVD, but most of them are so delightful that they belong in the family library regardless. Certainly these two do. A Muppet Family Christmas brings the casts of Sesame Street, The Muppet Show and Fraggle Rock together for a night of singing around the fire and trading quips—none better than the moment when Bert & Ernie engages a fellow Muppet by casually noting the letters with which various words begin. And Emmet Otter is quite simply one of the most heartwarming Christmas specials ever aired, with catchy Paul Williams songs, a diorama-like beauty, and a message about making do with little that never ceases to move. (Warning: There are unconfirmed rumors that both of these shows have been trimmed by about 8 minutes each, for reasons unknown; but this may be a case of Internet reviewers with faulty memories.)
N.M.
DANCE
Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre The reverberations of Sept. 11 and its aftershock continue to be felt in subtle ways. After the bombing of Afghanistan began, China’s Guangdong Modern Dance Company cancelled its North American tour, fearing international travel. Their original date in the Great Performances at Vanderbilt series has now been filled by Pascal Rioult Dance Theatre, which performs Nov. 8 at 8 p.m. in Langford Auditorium. Company leader Rioult was born in Caen, France, and was a principal dancer with the Martha Graham Dance Company from 1986 to 1994. Since then, he has devoted his full energies to his own company, instilling in his dancers a reverence for a wide range of performance styles.
M.B.
United We Stand: Saluting America’s Heroes Fisk University’s Little Theater will be the site of this performance by the dance company Orchesis, which pays tribute to the brave men and women who risked their lives in rescue and recovery operations following the Sept. 11 attacks on our nation. Peter A. Fields Jr. is the choreographer for the concert’s three main ballets—”Changing Winds,” “Silence Upon Silence: 9-11” and “Sacred Places: Bells Are Tolling”—which salute America’s heroes, interpret the emotions of today’s society, and grapple anew with notions of man’s inhumanity to man. Donations will be accepted at the door and all proceeds go to the American Red Cross and its relief efforts. Performed 8 p.m. Nov. 8-10.
M.B.
THEATER
Barrage The end is not in sight for youth-oriented, energy-plus musical/theatrical extravaganzas. Riverdance begot Stomp! which begot Blast!. Now make way for Barrage, a frenetically charged celebration of the violin (or do you call it a “fiddle”?). Seven twentysomething “extreme” violinists/singers—backed up by bass, drum, and guitar—engage in energetic choreography while playing their instruments and serving up a stew of international musical styles, including calypso, Celtic, Slavic and East Indian, in addition to Western genres such as swing, blues and country. Fresh from successful appearances across Europe, Barrage includes a stop in Nashville on its first major U.S. tour; the troupe invades TPAC’s Jackson Hall for one performance only, 7 p.m. Nov. 13. All-ages entertainment, of course, and highly recommended for the growing legion of folks who think the violin is sexy.
M.B.
Beauty and the Beast Nashville Children’s Theatre presents the third production of its 70th anniversary season with the Nov. 12 opening of an original adaptation of this beloved fairy tale. The new version, based on the French story La Belle et la Bête by Mme. Marie LePrince de Beaumont, is under the direction of NCT producing director Scot Copeland, who has his usual creative lieutenants around him, including scenic designer Scott Boyd, costume designer Patricia Taber, lighting designer Karen Creel, sound designer Dan Brewer, and composer Paul Carrol Binkley. The cast includes Brooke Bryant, Misty Lewis, Jenny Littleton, Buddy Raper, Brian Webb Russell, and Bobby Wyckoff. Beauty and the Beast will run through December 19 at NCT’s Hill Theatre. A special performance will take place on Sun., Dec. 2 at 2:30 p.m. as part of NCT’s 70th anniversary celebration. This event is scheduled in conjunction with the Third Annual Grand Ann Day, a special family gala for grandparents, grandchildren, parents, and friends to benefit NCT, the nation’s oldest children’s theater.
M.B.
A Country Christmas, Carol It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas on the Backstage at Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre, which opens this Appalachian-style retelling of the Charles Dickens classic on Nov. 13 for a holiday run through Dec. 31. In this version—written by Barn favorite Martha Wilkinson—Ebeneezer Scrubb is a Kentucky slumlord, while his assistant, Bob Scratchit, slaves away to make payments on his doublewide and Tiny Clem’s medical bills.
M.B.
Dinner With Friends Tennessee Repertory Theatre debuts the first production in the 2001-2002 season’s Off Broadway Series with Donald
Margulies’ Pulitzer Prize-winning play Dinner With Friends, opening Nov. 8 at TPAC’s Johnson Theater. Rep associate artistic director Todd Olson has gathered together two pairs of actors/married couples—Henry Haggard/Evelyn Blythe and David Compton/Martha Wilkinson—and placed them strategically into this timely story of husbands and wives, friends for years, who haltingly face the news that one of the couples is divorcing. The production runs through Nov. 17.
M.B.
Sesame Street Live—”Let’s Be Friends” Some things are for sure: death, taxes, and warm and fuzzy touring productions featuring the Sesame Street gang. From Nov. 8-11, there will be eight performances at the Gaylord Entertainment Center of this toe-tapping musical entertainment, which promises to impart wholesome lessons to kids—teamwork, loyalty, cooperation, patience, etc. (Hmmm...maybe the Titans should make this a field trip.) At the same time, audiences get to visit with favorite Sesame Street characters like Elmo, Zoe, and Cookie Monster. The production features the original voices heard on the award-winning television series; in addition, authenticity is maintained with script, costumes, and sets. Among the nearly two dozen songs are renditions of oldies that parents can groove on, such as “Yakety Yak,” “Shout,” and “Wipeout.” Produced by VEE Entertainment Corporation, the group responsible for the popular Bear in the Big Blue House Live.
M.B.
ART
Caldwell Collection Painter Tom Darnell is a south Texas boy who makes his home in the south of France now. Nashville art lovers, many of whom may recall his work at Cumberland Gallery a few years back, can see how that eclectic background influences his work in his latest show. While the French connection is very much present in Darnell’s dreamy paintings of cypress groves, there’s a hint of wide-open Texas in his vast skyscapes. As for his oversize, extreme close-ups of rose or sunflower blossoms, you’ll have to ask the artist—which you can do at the Bandywood shop all day this Friday and Saturday, or at the opening reception, 5-7 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 8.
A.W.
Nashville Cultural Arts Project The fourth lecture in NCAP’s free “Outta Site” series brings acclaimed artist/architect/designer Vito Acconci to the project’s Germantown gallery space 5:30 p.m. Nov. 8. Acconci’s work has evolved from performance art in the 1960s to audio and video installations in the ‘70s and architecture and furniture design in the ‘80s. Today, his Acconci Studio creates projects for public places.
A.W.
Vanderbilt Fine Arts Gallery Contemporary Japanese pottery in traditional styles is showcased in an exhibition organized and sponsored by the Japan Foundation. The show explores the roots of traditional styles and techniques used by modern Japanese potters as well as the spiritual culture of the Japanese tea ceremony. In all, 65 works by 55 artists are on view. To learn more about the art form, plan to sit in on a free lecture by Vandy professor emeritus Milan Mihal at 5:30 p.m., Nov. 8. The lecture is part of the opening reception, 5-7 p.m.
A.W.
Attic Gallery Works by self-taught Seattle artist Anne Grgich are paired for the first time with those of her Nashville-based brother Fred Grgich at this 12 South gallery. Anne’s works are primarily of faces, created from multi-layered mixtures of collage and painting on such varied surfaces as canvas, wood, puzzles and books. Fred’s primitive-style visions of people he encounters in Nashville are also built of layers of collage and fabric painted with oils and acrylics on canvas and wood. Meet the artists at the opening reception, 6-9 p.m. Friday.
A.W.
Plowhaus A new artists’ co-op opens in East Nashville this week with a reception 7:15-9:45 p.m. Saturday. Housed in a former barbershop, the co-op showcases the works of 20 Nashville artists, many of whom will be included in the opening group show. Look for prints by Lesley Patterson, paintings by Michael Manly and Angela Knowles, mosaic art by Richard Soloperto, photography by Raeanne Rubenstein and Eric England, plus a few surprises. After all, the co-op is owned and operated by Franne Lee, designer of those memorable Saturday Night Live costumes for the Coneheads and the Landshark. Candygram, anyone?
A.W.
Zeitgeist New multimedia works by Tim Hussey and photographs by Gene Wilken are featured in the latest show at this Hillsboro Village gallery. Hussey’s work features rough-hewn figures silhouetted against backgrounds that are layered with diagrams and words that reference biology textbooks and personal correspondence. Wilken’s large-scale photographs combine the naturalistic and the abstract in industrial landscapes recorded during months of travel to urban areas in the Northeast, Midwest and Southeast. Join the artists at the opening reception 6-8 p.m. Saturday.
A.W.
Margaret Cuninggim Women’s Center There’s nothing like a nice cup of tea to sooth the nerves—or to inspire an artist to reflect on the narrative quality of the humble teacup. Nashville artist Doris Wasserman does the latter in her oil paintings, which depict such slightly surreal scenes as a delicate white cup floating in a blue, cloud-filled sky and a cup of tea waiting to accept the acorn—rather than the usual sugar cube—suspended over it. Each cup and painting has a tale to tell, according to the artist, but to get the whole story you may want to join her at the opening reception, 4:30-6 p.m. Tues., Nov. 13. Tea will be served, of course.
A.W.
Auld Alliance This West Meade gallery on Highway 100 celebrates its 15th year with a show that’s unabashedly lighthearted. Works include Jann Harrison’s ongoing visual saga of a rakish frog named Francois A.M. Fibian, Jonathan Blum’s cartoonish portraits of dogs and cats, Carylon Killebrew’s uncluttered close-ups of fruits and vegetables and the jovial bar scenes of JOANNA. Meet the artists and drink a champagne toast to gallery owner Christine Holt at the opening reception 5-8 p.m., Nov. 9.
A.W.
Books
Jim Hightower He’s the coolest guy in a cowboy hat. That’s a bold statement since coolness and ten-gallon hats aren’t nearly synonymous as they once were. Cowboy or not, Hightower—syndicated columnist, radio personality and author—has the insight of Noam Chomsky and the tenacity of Michael Moore rolled into the wit and sweet Southern drawl of Molly Ivins. The Tennessee Environmental Council hosts this important speaker in a not-to-miss event, Saturday at noon at Lakeside Resort on Center Hill Lake. Having authored such titles as If the Gods Meant Us to Vote They Would Have Given Us Candidates and There’s Nothing in the Middle of the Road but Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos, Hightower should have plenty to say about recent events.
A.M.
Lord of the Rings Fans of Tolkien’s Hobbit series have but a brief wait for the feature-length release of Lord of the Rings. Much like
Trekkies, these fans have a hankering for dressing in character-authentic attire, affecting accents of unknown origin and, in general, conveying the wackiness and unbridled enthusiasm of the well-intended groupie gone a smidge too far. So, attention all members of the Society for Creative Anachronism, your Star Wars, Episode One is here. My fingers are crossed that ol’ Bilbo doesn’t’ get the proactive treatment and end up coming off like Jar Jar Binks. Fans can get a good idea of what to expect when Davis-Kidd Booksellers hosts a video preview and discussion of Tolkien’s books, 1 p.m. Thurs., Nov. 8.
A.M.
COMEDY
The 18 Mighty Mountain Warriors From a Bruce Lee cooking show to a class that teaches Asian tourists the English they really need to know—e.g., “Damn Japanese taking all our jobs, I’ll kill you!”—the self-professed “world’s most psychotic Asian American comedy group” wreaks havoc with stereotypes and caricatures of Asian American culture. The acclaimed Bay Area sketch-comedy troupe makes its first Nashville stop 7:30 p.m. Monday at the Sarratt Cinema, courtesy of Vanderbilt’s Asian American Students Association.
J.R.
EVENTS
Martha Rivers Ingram Center for the Performing Arts Opening & Dedication Sunday marks a special day for the Nashville arts community with the dedication ceremonies for the opening of the Martha Rivers Ingram Center for the Performing Arts at Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music. This attractive, multifunctional, $15 million building will not only serve as the premier concert hall for Blair musical programs, but it is also being projected as a potential alternative performance space for virtually every performing arts group in our town. The 600-seat facility features a 40-by-40-by-30-foot proscenium opening (with maximum capability for 60-foot width), state-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment—including a $1.5 million basement recording studio—acoustical excellence, versatile wing and fly space for theatrical productions, rubber-padded stage flooring conducive to dance, instrumental and choral rehearsal rooms, dressing areas, and a convertible hydraulic-lift orchestra pit. The Nov. 11 open house is an invitation to Nashville and surrounding communities, featuring performances by faculty and students, special guest appearances, a “musical petting zoo” for kids, giveaways, drawings for classes, tours, mini-lectures, and more. The festivities takes place 1-5 p.m. at 2400 Blakemore Ave. on the Vanderbilt University campus.
M.B.
Picks written by Martin Brady, Bill Friskics-Warren, Angela Messina, Noel Murray, Jim Ridley, Jack Silverman, William Tyler, Angela Wibking and Ron Wynn.
