Printmakers who recently moved to Nashville from South Dakota, Roden and Lueth are keenly attuned to social, political and environmental issues, but their astoundingly detailed works are anything but didactic. Instead, the artists’ unease and frustration about the state of the world results in prints that teem with energy, at once alluring and anxiety-inducing. Partners in both life and art, they’re the featured artists in TAG Art Gallery’s current show. Lueth’s black-and-white etchings are steeped in dark-humored observations about humanity; “Miss Peep Show Planet,” which shows a ravaged Earth lorded over by a figure sporting a phallic cannon, is vibrant with texture and motion, even if the activity in question happens to be that of pollution, decay and death. Roden’s color woodcut prints burst with a similar restlessness, offering vivid storybook vistas depicting the troubling ironies of modern life—poverty and environmental devastation during times of prosperity, bustling subterranean existence in the era of nuclear winter. “Handlebars and Pigtails”—the title’s a reference to Roden’s choice of facial hair and Lueth’s coif—opens on Saturday, Feb. 4, with a reception from 6-8 p.m. The show runs through Feb. 25. —JONATHAN MARX MUSIC THURSDAY, 2ND ARMOR FOR SLEEP/ACTION REACTION/et al. Headliners of “The Invisible Sideshow” tour, Armor for Sleep put a modern sheen on the earnest probing of emo and punk. Their CD, What to Do When You Are Dead, is a concept album that answers the title question with first-person narratives delivered from the beyond. “I came down here to tell you that it rains in heaven all day long…. Don’t believe that it’s better when you leave everything behind,” explains the protagonist of “The Truth About Heaven.” A note of regret runs through the music—as does one of self-pity. Tour mates Chiodos and Boys Night Out lend a punker edge to their music, but can’t seem to wrest any more tension out of the extra volume and distortion. That leaves the standout on the bill, Action Reaction, a trio who’ve yet to release an album (though they are signed to Equal Vision, home also to AFS and Chiodos). They’re as capable of being heavy as their tour mates, but Action Reaction prefer to hold back a little and let their songs uncoil more slowly and tautly, making a textured, at times shimmering background for Jason Gleason’s full-on vocals. Where other modern rock singers yell and cry and barely get by with a halfway melodic tune, this guy really sings, like something’s at stake. (www.myspace.com/actionreaction) Rcktwn —JONATHAN MARX MEGAN SLANKARD Most, if not all, of the fashion victims made over on TLC’s popular TV show What Not to Wear proclaim by the show’s end that the experience has changed their lives. But few can quantify the experience quite like Megan Slankard, a California-based singer-songwriter who exchanged her beat-up Chuck Taylors for pointy-toed stilettos in 2004. Days after the episode aired, her 2004 release Freaky Little Story shot into Amazon’s Top 10 and her website saw record-breaking traffic. To go with her more polished look, this October Slankard released her slickest record to date—the EP A Little Extra Sun, a terrific blend of earthy folk-pop tinged with rock influences and a dash of electronica. Instead of her usual backing band, Slankard employs Counting Crows guitarist Dan Vickrey and former Crows drummer Steve Bowman. The result is a sparkling, full-bodied backdrop for her complex soprano, which can turn from bluesy to buoyant on a dime. (www.meganslankard.com) The Basement —KATIE DODD DALE ANN BRADLEY It’s a bit of a mystery as to why Bradley hasn’t scored in a way as big as her supple, smoky voice. Perhaps it’s because, despite the breadth of her folk- and country-influenced bluegrass, at the end of the day it’s still bluegrass—an identification strengthened by the presence in her band of renowned hard ’grass fiddler Michael Cleveland and underrated but superb mandolinist Jesse Brock. Or maybe it’s because even in roots music, the attention paid to female artists still goes first to the svelte and media-savvy. Whatever the reason, this rare Nashville appearance by the perennial IBMA Female Vocalist of the Year nominee is not to be missed. (www.daleann.com) Station Inn —JON WEISBERGER FRIDAY, 3RD HAYSEED DIXIE The bluegrass bins at your local record store are so clogged with “tributes” to rock and pop acts from Blink-182 to Modest Mouse that it’s a wonder there’s room for any actual ’grass in there. Hayseed Dixie, who specialize in four-on-the-floor covers of classic rock and metal tunes, earn their spot in the rack through canny choices, forward propulsion and sheer force of personality. Besides, on their new A Hot Piece of Grass, Hayseed’s “rockgrass” originals finally share equal time with reconstructions of party-time chestnuts from the likes of AC/DC and Led Zeppelin. (There’s also a hint of an antiwar theme in the covers, with versions of Black Sabbath’s “War Pigs” and Green Day’s “Holiday” back-to-back.) The whole deranged affair is topped off with an uncharacteristically sentimental move: a take on “Dueling Banjos,” the bluegrass standard originated by Don Reno, the father of band members Dale and Don Wayne Reno. (www.hayseed-dixie.com) Mercy Lounge —CHRIS NEAL FEIST A key member of last year’s Canadian new wave, Leslie Feist’s indie cred was galvanized when the title track of her second album, Let It Die, appeared on The OC during the ’04 holidays. The 29-year-old ex-pat, who lives in Paris, has rapped with Peaches, opened for Bright Eyes and is among the revolving members of the power-pop troupe Broken Social Scene. On Let It Die, her U.S. debut, jazz, hip-hop and bossa nova grooves are sprinkled with piano, acoustic guitar, hand claps and bongo drums. The effect is subtle and atmospheric, allowing Feist’s French-inflected voice to command attention and lend poignancy to her odes of domestic tranquillity (“Mushaboom”) and heartache (“Lonely Lonely”). Feist’s Belcourt show is sold out, but she’s performing an in-store at Grimey’s at 1 p.m. (www.listentofeist.com) Belcourt Theatre —WILLIAM DEAN HINTON JERRY JOSEPH This Portland singer and guitarist is the rare jam-band frontman who also tours and records as a solo artist. Joseph’s trio, the Jackmorons, just released a new album, Into the Lovely, but he comes to town alone, which means he’ll draw heavily from his four non-band albums, especially 2004’s Cherry. He’ll miss the thunderous bottom of his band, which is one of the more aggressive jam outfits around, but the stripped-down settings will highlight Joseph’s gruff, dock-worker voice and his bowery musings about the nature of dreams and the spiritual battle between outsiders and insiders. (www.jerryjoseph.com) The Basement —MICHAEL McCALL SATURDAY, 4TH DETROIT COBRAS You can quibble about the artistic relevance of a band who make a career of doing cover tunes, but there was no quibbling at the Slow Bar a few years back when the Detroit Cobras tore the roof, rafters, booths and plaster off the joint. Not to mention that they specialize in obscure soul and R&B songs written by the likes of Hank Ballard, Steve Cropper and Bobby Womack that most in their audience haven’t heard before, much like the Stones and Beatles did back in the day. And there’s something fitting about a band from the Motor City, the birthplace of Motown and the MC5, combining old-school soul with the snot and bravado of garage punk. Echoes of Chrissie Hynde’s voice and swagger can be heard in leader singer Rachel Nagy, though Nagy—who worked as a butcher before fronting the Cobras—has a certain nonchalance that makes her seem even more provocative and dangerous. The Cobras’ current album Baby is a great party record, and they’re an even better party band. Bring a date. (www.myspace.com/thedetroitcobras) Exit/In —JACK SILVERMAN J.D. CROWE & THE NEW SOUTH Banjo wizard Crowe may now be among the legends in the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Hall of Honor, but he’s letting no grass grow under his feet; as he nears 70, the lifelong resident of Lexington, Ky., keeps a full schedule. His band is as good as any he’s ever had, too—no small statement when giants like Ricky Skaggs, Tony Rice, Jerry Douglas and Keith Whitley have passed through its ranks. Nearing completion of a long-awaited new album, Crowe has been here several times in recent months to play the Opry, but he and the New South are at their best—loose, humorous and blindingly virtuosic—when they can stretch out in a friendly venue. (www.jdcrowe.net) Station Inn —JON WEISBERGER COWBOY DYNAMITE There’s good reason for the weary post-teen music crowd to head out to The Muse every now and then—to hear regulars like Cowboy Dynamite, a teen punk band from Franklin who point to the next wave of the local rock scene. Delightfully messy numbers like “Police Station” are your basic teen anarchist’s stare-down with authority, and “Crosses on the Highway” is the kind of rowdy free-for-all that sounds as much like a foot-stompin’ campfire sing-along as it does ramshackle punk. Cowboy Dynamite may not generate the hype of say, BYOP, but they should, and not just because they’re kids, but because their youth allows them to approach punk rock like it ought to be approached: with curiosity, recklessness and humor. (www.myspace.com/cowboydynamite) The Muse —TRACY MOORE ASYLUM STREET SPANKERS At the latter end of the continuum that includes Louis Jordan, Spike Jones, Captain Beefheart and Dan Hicks lie the Asylum Street Spankers, purveyors of bawdiness, dry wit and impeccable musicianship. Even if you took away the humor and shtick, the music itself would be reason enough to check them out. They play old-time instruments, typically with little or no amplification, but their music is no mere throwback. In addition to the blues and folk roots you’d expect, the Spankers delve into klezmer, jazz, punk, new wave and whatever else their restless minds latch onto on any given day. They’re currently on the road promoting the release of their new DVD Re-Assembly, filmed during their 10th anniversary reunion shows. The disc features 21 current and former band members, including co-founder Guy Forsyth, who has rejoined the group for these shows. (www.asylumstreetspankers.com) 3rd & Lindsley —JACK SILVERMAN TUESDAY, 7TH BOMSHEL “The Bomshel Stomp” is currently the hottest country dance track since “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” and “Save a Horse (Ride a Cowboy).” Setting a foot-stomping Scottish fiddle reel atop a dance loop and arena-rock guitars, it sounds like a square-dance tune on Ecstasy, and it introduces this audacious new country duo. Singer Buffy Lawson, who writes most of the material, and fiddler Kristy O. lit up the back room at Tootsie’s every week for the first half of 2005 before signing with Curb Records. The duo return to their longtime home to bone up for a series of performances at Country Radio Seminar the following week—and for the Feb. 27 radio release of their beat-heavy single, which ought to raise a stir reminiscent of what happened when Big & Rich kicked country convention in the ass not long ago. (www.bomshel.com) 11 p.m., Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge —MICHAEL McCALL WEDNESDAY, 8TH GIBSON BROTHERS The new album from these upstate New Yorkers, Red Letter Day, is just weeks old and it’s their best yet. Bringing the well-matched tones and harmonies of the brother duet into the 21st century, the disc serves up gee-whiz covers of Ray Charles and the Rolling Stones and draws on Americana favorites like Bruce Robison and Chris Knight. The real meat here, though, is the duo’s best songwriting yet—especially the simultaneously wry and earnest “Walking With Joanna.” Backing Leigh (guitar) and Eric (banjo) Gibson are a set of unheralded but talented pickers—longtime bassist Mike Barber, fiddler Clayton Campbell and Cincinnati area mandolinist Rick Hayes. (www.gibsonbrothers.com) The Station Inn —JON WEISBERGER CLASSICAL ALIAS For their next concert, Saturday at Blair School of Music’s Turner Recital Hall, Nashville’s premier chamber group flip the usual program sequence inside out, beginning and ending with elegiac pieces that bookend the liveliest material. The concert starts with “Chanson Perpetuelle,” a song for soprano by Ernest Chausson, a French composer contemporary in time and style to Debussy. In the poem, a woman disconsolate over the loss of a lover describes the suicide she is contemplating. Chausson set these words with string quartet and piano accompaniment, making something more theatrical than the usual piano and voice chanson. The last piece on the program is a work for solo cello by contemporary British composer John Tavener; he’s a convert to the Russian Orthodox Church and writes music infused with mystic significance, embodied in musical timbres analogous to the gold in an icon. “Thrinos,” a song of mourning, makes its emotional mark through stately and simple writing, never becoming overwrought. In between these two pieces fall an urbane septet by Stravinsky, two Italian baroque works, and new compositions by Piotr Szewczyk and Alias’ own Matt Walker. The last of these is one of Walker’s forays into jazz-based writing for chamber ensemble, in this case combining a piano-bass-drums jazz trio with cello and violin. —DAVID MADDOX THEATER BLACKBIRD Novelist and dramatist Adam Rapp pens viscerally compelling works that portray people grappling with drug addiction, physical disintegration, psychic alienation and their sometimes ghastly personal histories. Blackbird is possibly his seamiest opus, even while its author sincerely considers it a love story, wherein an infirm, incontinent Desert Storm vet shares a Lower East Side tenement room with his sickly, heroin-enslaved teenage girlfriend. The play’s 2004 New York production drew heartfelt praise from critics for its realistic depiction of a desperately fated relationship, while the intensity of setting and characterization also drove audience members from the theater. The Village Voice’s Charles McNulty characterized Rapp’s approach as “rubbing our noses in the moral and physical squalor of [drug addiction].” GroundWorks Theatre presents the Nashville premiere of this gritty, graphic and haunting tale, with Jack E. Chambers and Megan Murphy starring under the direction of Robert A. O’Connell. Performances are Feb. 3-11 at the Darkhorse Theater. Recommended for mature teens and up. For reservations, phone 262-5485. —MARTIN BRADY IOLANTHE The third production of Nashville Opera’s 25th anniversary season is this less familiar gem from Gilbert and Sullivan, creators of The Pirates of Penzance and HMS Pinafore. Fairies and politicians mix fancifully in Gilbert’s comically satirical libretto, and Sullivan’s score is typically lively, featuring some striking solo numbers. The Nashville Symphony provides the musical accompaniment. Performances are Feb. 3, 5, 10 and 11 in TPAC’s Polk Theater. Phone 255-ARTS for tickets. —MARTIN BRADY ART “STRAIGHTLINE ENDING” Zeitgeist Gallery’s first show of the new year spotlights diverse approaches to abstraction with work from seven local and regional artists. Lain York, who also serves as Zeitgeist’s gallery director, paints bold canvases that adapt mask forms onto a two-dimensional plane and overlays part of the composition with repeated patterns, typically circles or dots; the result has a complex yet direct emotional resonance that bypasses both word and image. (Which is exactly what abstraction is supposed to do, right?) The same can be said for the other painters in this show, Hamlett Dobbins (whose work is also on view at the Frist Center), Todd McDaniel and Tim Hussey—each of whom possesses his own well-wrought aesthetic. Even more distinct are the works of Jeff Hand, a Nashvillian who makes brightly colored assemblages of fake fur, and the collaborative team of Hans + Gieves. Mixing photography and painting to the point where it’s not entirely clear what you’re looking at, Hans + Gieves take images of landscapes and architectural details and find within them unique possibilities for abstraction. Playing with the clean, symmetrical repetition of line and shape, the resulting works render the familiar pleasingly new—kind of like peering inside the infinite regressions of two facing mirrors. —JONATHAN MARX BETH LILLY: “THE MYTHS OF TREES” Atlanta-based photographer Beth Lilly presents a solo show of her work in the latest exhibit at Vanderbilt’s Sarratt Gallery. In “The Myths of Trees,” she uses various digital processes to create the soft focus of her dreamlike landscapes. Titles like “Bound,” “Corpse” and “Guardians” are indicative of the shadowy images that Lilly’s techniques elicit from her arboreal subjects. The artist will give a gallery talk at 4:30 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 3. A reception will follow at 7 p.m. —JOE NOLAN NANCY VANREECE Suite 207, a new art space located atop A Thousand Faces in Hillsboro Village, celebrates its first show with a one-night event featuring work by local artist Nancy VanReece, 6-9 p.m. Feb. 3. VanReece’s largely abstract paintings work in representational elements—weather, human figures, a chicken—but they sit comfortably among large, textured fields of color that manage to be bright and muted at the same time, thanks in part to streaks of white that poke through the brush strokes. For more information about the show, or to get a look at VanReece’s work, visit her website at www.nancyvanreece.com. Proceeds from sales of her work will benefit Tennessee Equality Project, a nonprofit representing the rights and concerns of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people across the state. —JONATHAN MARX LISA KLAKULAK Nashville artist Lisa Klakulak’s textile works use all-natural dyes and fibers that she embellishes with beadwork and stitching; though her processes are traditional, her sense of design is sleek and modern, from the forms of the pieces to the motifs and patterns that adorn them. Creating both nonfunctional sculpture and utilitarian objects such as felted handbags and hats, Klakulak reflects on human vulnerability and the need for physical and mental security. The modern woman’s accessories—her ever-present purse, a favorite jacket or scarf—become much like Linus’ blanket from the “Peanuts” comic strip. Pushing the metaphor further, Klakulak has created works such as “Body Fence,” a latticed, felted shawl, and a body-hugging wrap of concentric felted circles titled “Breast Shield”—examples of aesthetically pleasing objects that frame our attire as “a weapon used to navigate through contemporary life,” as the artist puts it. An opening reception for Klakulak’s current show at the Renaissance Center in Dickson takes place 6-7:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3. —NICOLE PIETRANTONI CUMBERLAND FURNITURE GUILD There’s more to furniture than love seats and tying the room together, and the Cumberland Furniture Guild’s current exhibit at the Gordon Jewish Community Center’s Janet Levine March Gallery is out to prove it. Featuring works from local artists and craftsmen that meld comfort with creativity, the exhibit will display a wide range of styles and designs from contemporary to traditional. In tandem with the exhibit, which runs through Feb. 28, the guild will present a series of free lectures hosted by expert craftsmen each Thursday in February. Local furniture maker Scott Thompson will kick off the series on Feb. 2 with an exploration of the structural details of furniture. Artist and sculptor Craig Nutt, who combines technology with traditional designs, will follow a week later with a survey of different periods of furniture design. Alf Sharp will discuss the art and skill of furniture reproduction on Feb. 16, and Jim Horne will wrap up the series on Feb. 23 with a look at the sources of contemporary furniture design. Phone 356-7170 for more information. —JAMES NIX FILMSAMURAI FILM FESTIVAL: 3 XKUROSAWA “Harakiri” could describe the fate of most Asian films in Nashville theaters, which makes the left-field success of the Belcourt’s seven-film samurai festival doubly impressive. (On opening night, all-fest passes were getting snapped up as fast as Samurai Sushi’s donated mixed-roll platter.) And the theater has saved the most formidable films for last, as the festival closes this weekend through Tuesday with a trio of Akira Kurosawa classics: the 1957 Macbeth adaptation Throne of Blood, 1950’s Rashomon and 1954’s The Seven Samurai, the landmark action epic that influenced everything from The Wild Bunch to Star Wars. (The Saturday screening of Throne of Blood will be introduced at 5:45 p.m. by local filmmaker Pouria Montazeri.)This Wednesday, Feb. 1, features thelast of Kihachi Okamoto’s bizarre modernistsamurai films, with Vanderbilt film-studies chair Paul Young introducing the 7 p.m. show of the spoofy Kill! You’ve also got Thursday to catch two masterpieces from underrated director Masaki Kobayashi: 1962’s Harakiri (with Tatsuya Nakadai) and 1967’s Samurai Rebellion (with Nakadai and Toshiro Mifune). See our Movie Guide for detailed reviews and show times, and avail yourself of the sake inthe lobby. —JIM RIDLEY
CANNES AD EVENT The subject could be Volvos or vibrators: what matters is the style, as celebrated by the Cannes International Advertising Festival’s annual survey of the world’s best commercials. This year’s batch screens 7 p.m. Saturday at the Belcourt, sponsored by FilmNashville and the Nashville Advertising Federation; ad-mission is $5. The commercials will be preceded by several feature-length films. —JIM RIDLEY
