It was painful enough to see Melrose Lanes reduced to an enormous pile of rubble. Now comes the closing of longtime watering hole The Sutler, as an entire strip of businesses on Franklin Road gets cleared out to make way for a new retail and restaurant development. Though never as exalted as the Exit/In or Tootsie’s, The Sutler has its own place in the city’s nightlife history. Rich with character, thanks to an antique wooden bar, a wall-spanning mirror, crowded tables, and walls plastered with photos, it’s seen a remarkable array of musicians take its tiny stage—everything from New York chamber-pop band The Ladybug Transistor to R&B/funk maestro Swamp Dogg to Lord-knows-how-many local singer-songwriters and alt-country acts. (Fittingly enough, owner Johnny Potts was in the city’s first generation of rock ’n’ roll musicians—his high school band The Monorays put out a 45 on the city’s legendary Excello label in the late ’50s.) On The Sutler’s final night, languid indie rock band The Lone Official will take the stage, and with plenty to look forward to: they’re in the midst of signing a deal with Honest Jon’s, the UK record store/label run by Blur’s Damon Albarn. Next year should see the overseas release of a new Lone Official album, with possible U.S. distribution in the offing as well. Sharing the bill with them are The Altered Statesman, the loose-limbed avant-country-soul aggregation of songwriter Steve Poulton, and a new band, Las Personas, whose lone downloadable track (available at www.blacklabelempire.com) is a burst of pleasingly sweet pop music driven by the simple strum of a ukulele. —JONATHAN MARX Music Thursday, 22nd REFLUX/AUGUST BURNS RED/CALICO SYSTEM Like dance music, metal is one of those genres that breaks down into infinite subgenres—and yet, to the average listener, it all sounds the same. With this multi-band bill, though, each group emerges with a distinct take on the louder-faster-heavier aesthetic. The best among them, Washington, D.C.’s Reflux, may play relentlessly heavy music, but they also descend from a long line of politically conscious punk bands in the D.C. area. Their album The Illusion of Democracy seethes with fury and outrage, and amid the hammering riffs they throw in a few melodic vocals and unexpected stylistic shifts—including some proggy excursions that suggest even the angriest among us just have to stop and let go every so often. The young Christian metal band August Burns Red have their own outrage to vent, but it emerges with a spiritual bent, their music boring through the listener with the intensity of a true believer. It’s hard to imagine that such wrenching sounds could come from such baby-faced musicians. Calico System, meanwhile, sound more like an alt-rock band in metalheads’ clothing. Ed Gein (the band, not the man) and locals Molesting Buddha round out the bill. The Muse —JONATHAN MARX PROM NIGHT/THE MATTOID/JEFF What a weird and wonderful holiday bash this should be. The band Jeff feature Jake and Jamin Orrall, the young provocateurs behind Infinity Cat Recordings, the label that boasts acts like Be Your Own Pet (for whom Jamin plays drums), Monkey Bowl and whatever late-night bedroom tape the brothers have concocted after too much Mountain Dew and Xbox 360. They weave snotty punk with devil’s-horns metal. The Mattoid recall the gritty allure of Velvet Underground, and front man Ville Kiviniemi has a wonderfully deep, almost otherworldly voice; at times he ventures off into an odd sort of throat singing that sounds like the chanting of Tibetan monks after inhaling too much nitrous oxide, but in the best possible way. On their MySpace page, headliners Prom Night claim among their influences Nintendo, karaoke, sci-fi and partying, and that’s a pretty fair indicator of their music, a joyous mashing of disco beats, cheesy synths and twisted humor that summons the spirits of the B-52’s and Thomas Dolby. Exit/In —JACK SILVERMAN NASHVILLE MANDOLIN ENSEMBLE w/SPECIAL GUESTS JESSE McREYNOLDS & DAVID SCHNAUFER Closing in on its 15th anniversary, the NME continues to be one of the city’s most versatile and interesting ensembles—a kind of modern, more far-reaching version of the mandolin orchestras that were all the rage a century ago. Bach, Beatles, Bluegrass, the title of their most recent album, gives some idea of their range, but they can swing, too, and intricate arrangements go hand in hand with formidable improvisational skills. This show will open with a short set by group founder Butch Baldassari and Appalachian dulcimer guru David Schnaufer that celebrates the release of their recent duets album—a concept that sounds like it shouldn’t work, but does; mandolin pioneer McReynolds (whose picking is as dazzling as ever) will join in for a few numbers, and Baldassari promises a few Christmas tunes, too. The Station Inn —JON WEISBERGER THE HIGH STRUNG This Detroit trio’s music is dotted with the hallmarks of great ’60s rock: fuzztone guitars, catchy melodies, chiming harmonies, brisk rhythms, handclaps and tambourine. Even when they’re singing a sad song, there’s a glee in their music—the joy of playing rock ’n’ roll, and playing it pure and simple. And they show that, even within the seemingly narrow confines of garage-pop, there’s a range to be found between the lyricism of Ray Davies and the dirty water of The Standells. For this show, they’ll be trucking out a few holiday favorites, as will their like-minded local openers: Girls and Boys, whose own catchy pop comes with a more modern sheen, and Hotpipes, who are too restless to stick to simple 1-4-5 chord progressions, but recognize the value of a simple hook. The Basement —JONATHAN MARX Friday, 23rd KIMBERLEY LOCKE The second most popular iTunes download for this American Idol alum—after her smash debut single “8th World Wonder”—is a boisterous version of “Up on the Housetop,” one of the least hip tunes in the canon of beloved Christmas carols. That Locke, a gifted R&B vocalist who probably should have bested both Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard on AI2, pulls it off so skillfully is a testament to her versatility. Her debut album, 2004’s One Love, included dreamy, soul-soaked ballads and high-energy dance pop (some of which has been remixed for the club scene), as well as a handful of classic covers like “I Can’t Make You Love Me” and “Somewhere Over the Rainbow,” another borderline cheesy pick she manages to carry off with her magnificent voice. The local gal—she graduated from Gallatin High and Belmont University—comes home for the holidays to perform a mix of seasonal favorites, lustrous ballads and upbeat grooves that will be right at home at one of Nashville’s trendy clubs. Play Dance Bar —KATIE DODD JOHN COWAN’S “COW XMAS” After years of indulging his rock and blues jones with Grooveyard and other projects, Cowan returned to his roots three years ago, following a tour with some acoustic players. “I’d run away from the legacy of 16 years with New Grass Revival for so long,” he says on his website, “and I finally realized that for some reason me singing with these instruments makes sense.” Cowan and his band are currently working on a new record, tentatively titled New Tattoo, to be released on Pinecastle Records in spring 2006. We can’t think of a warmer, more inviting place to have a Christmas party than the Station Inn, and with Cowan’s musical résumé, the “special guests” advertised likely will include heavyweights from the worlds of country, bluegrass and blues. Station Inn —JACK SILVERMAN Art LeQUIRE GALLERY HOLIDAY SHOW For its year-end show, LeQuire Gallery has invited more than a dozen artists to show sculpture, ceramics, paintings and other works that make for good gifting opportunities. Among other things, the exhibit offers a rare chance to see woodcut prints from Jim Sherraden, well known as the curator and manager of Hatch Show Print downtown. Though Sherraden’s most recognizable work creatively adapts eye-catching imagery from the age-old blocks of his Hatch shop, the prints on view at LeQuire Gallery are more detail-oriented black-and-white designs that draw inspiration from travels in Scandinavia and antique floral designs from Cuba. Also featuring works by Tom Turnbull, Brenda Stein, owner Alan LeQuire, John Reed, Amy Calzadilla, Greg Decker, Rebecca Ruegger and Ashley Wiltshire, the show remains up through Dec. 23 at LeQuire Gallery, 4304 Charlotte Ave. —JONATHAN MARX Film MUNICH In Steven Spielberg’s gripping fact-based thriller, a deep-cover Mossad hit squad tracks down the Palestinian terrorists responsible for the slaughter of Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics—only to wonder if vengeance corrupts the principles of their religion. The film opens Friday as part of the biggest movie-going weekend of the year. —JIM RIDLEY LOONEY TUNES A dozen doses of high-grade hilarity in easily digestible seven-minute capsules, starring Bugs Bunny, Daffy Duck, Pepe le Pew, Wile E. Coyote and my personal favorite, ornery outlaw Yosemite Sam. You may never get to see marvels such as Chuck Jones’ “One Froggy Evening” and “What’s Opera, Doc?” (i.e., “Kill da wabbit!”) looking this good again, in scrubbed-up new 35 mm prints on the big screen. And if you think you’re too old to laugh yourself wheezy at “Duck Dodgers” and “Rabbit Seasoning,” ya long-eared galoot, take the challenge and see. The Belcourt offers kids’ matinees Monday through Thursday after Christmas, with wate shows for gwown-up west and wewaxation. —JIM RIDLEY MIRRORMASK If you missed seeing Neil Gaiman and Dave McKean’s visually stunning dream tale during its one-week run at Green Hills, you’ll get a second chance starting Monday, when the Belcourt brings it back for four days. Bestselling author Gaiman and artist/designer McKean collaborated on this fantasy about a 15-year-old girl (Stephanie Leonidas) who seeks a powerful mask in a netherworld of opposing kingdoms and strange beings—a duck made of shoes, a spider-legged eyeball, books that serve as magic carpets. Recommended to fans of Terry Gilliam’s Time Bandits. —JIM RIDLEY 2 x WOODY ALLEN: ANNIE HALL / MANHATTAN Drop the kids off at the Belcourt’s Looney Tunes screening next door, and rediscover why many viewers swore lifelong loyalty to Woody Allen after the 1970s. On the eve of Allen’s best movie in years, the dark Match Point (opening next month), the Hillsboro Village movie house brings back a double feature of his twin late-’70s triumphs, 1977’s Oscar winner Annie Hall—one of the century’s great date movies—and 1979’s Manhattan, both starring Diane Keaton. The movies show Monday through Thursday. —JIM RIDLEY THE PRODUCERS A movie about the making of a flop Broadway musical becomes a hit Broadway musical. Now here’s the movie version of the musical. Got it? Deutschland is happy and gay, as Nathan Lane and Matthew Broderick reprise their Broadway roles as scheming producers seeking a surefire bomb. Uma Thurman’s Swedish meatball and Will Ferrell’s show-tune-singing Nazi are among the newcomers; Mel Brooks adapted the play from the musical from his 1968 movie (!), and Susan Stroman directed. It opens Christmas Day, along with Heath Ledger as Casanova, Kevin Costner and Shirley MacLaine in Rumor Has It… and the Australian torture thriller Wolf Creek. Also opening this week: Jim Carrey and Tea Leoni in Fun With Dick and Jane. —JIM RIDLEY MEMOIRS OF A GEISHA Zhang Ziyi, Michelle Yeoh and Gong Li star in the lavish movie version of the Arthur Golden best seller, an account of a geisha’s rise and rivalries in the years leading to World War II. Rob Marshall (Chicago) directed; the film opens Friday. —JIM RIDLEY
