Like many gifted Nashville musicians, Walker, a veteran R&B singer who began his career more than four decades ago, has gotten more acclaim and bigger audiences overseas than in his own backyard. He cut his first side of Nashville soul, a single called “Slave to Love” (credited to Charles Walker & The Daffodils) for producer Ted Jarrett’s Champion label, before recording under the name Little Charles & The Sidewinders for Chess and Decca in the early ’60s. When the reissued Sidewinders sides made a splash in Britain in the ’80s, Walker spent much of the decade working and recording in Europe. Since returning home in 1993, he’s been playing locally at clubs and overseas at huge blues festivals. That may even out a little this November, when his new album Number by Heart arrives in the States. A deep-soul collection that ranges from Dan Penn-Spooner Oldham gems to Elvis Costello’s “Alison,” the record has already earned Walker a large feature in the British music mag Mojo. Bourbon St. Blues & Boogie Bar
—Jim Ridley
Music
Thursday, 9th
The Brian Jonestown Massacre The name of this San Francisco band is a tip of the hat to the late Brian Jones for bringing Eastern influences to rock ’n’ roll; at the slightest provocation, singer-guitarist Anton Newcombe’s obsession with Jones and various cults comes roaring to life. By contrast, the tender vulnerability expressed in his work comes as a bit of a shock, as does the humor in song titles like “Prozac vs. Heroin Revisited” and “You Look Great When I’m Fucked Up.” Newcombe is an unabashed acolyte of psychedelic rock, and his vast body of work is remarkably cohesive. (It’s also available for download on the band’s Web site.) Over the past decade-plus, he’s explored the stylistic extensions of psychedelia and devoted an album to each (trance, acoustic blues, etc.). On his band’s latest, And This Is Our Music, his touch is light as the songs glide by in a steady stream. The End
—Saby Reyes-Kulkarni
Corn Mo Perhaps as a backlash against years of mopey shoegazing, Jack Black and Queens of the Stone Age are making the world safe again for rock ’n’ roll bombast, no matter what degree of quotation-markery is involved. But the world may never be safe for Corn Mo, a.k.a. Jon Cunningham, a sideburned ex-carny barker from Brooklyn whose worship of Queen, Meat Loaf and Vince Neil appears genuine—even when he accompanies his prog-rock time-travel epics, Gary Busey tributes and GN’R covers on accordion. A jaw-dropping set of absurdist music-hall comedy, would-be show tunes and Freddie Mercury grandstanding, his album The Magic Is You! would get old quickly if not for its unironic abandon. “When my heart is heavy, I listen to Night Ranger,” Corn Mo croons, “ ’cause Kelly and Jack seem to know how I’m feelin’.” Now, that takes guts. Springwater
—Jim Ridley
Friday, 10th
Busta Rhymes Once in a crew called Leaders of the New School, Busta Rhymes has never been considered part of rap’s old school, despite his 10-year career. From his anime villain costumes to his unique phrasing, Rhymes has stayed at the vanguard of most aspects of hip-hop by twisting the popular movements to fit his inimitable style—and by turning nonsensical rhymes into catch phrases, of which “Woo-Haa! I got you all in check” remains a classic. The raucous trickster persona he assumes in his videos transfers well to the stage, where his explosive delivery and boundless energy work fans into a frenzy. Over the years, his act has been diluted by his ubiquity, as he’s appeared in films and done guest shots on practically every hip-hop CD released. Here’s hoping this date isn’t as bland as his last CD, It Ain’t Safe No More. Memorial Gymnasium, Vanderbilt
—Mark Mays
Circus Maximus presents Metropolis! Jazz musicians Max Abrams and Pino Squillace’s concept is simple yet ambitious—to bring artists of non-concentric disciplines together and allow the audience to dictate the direction of the performance. Turntablist crew Audity Central, Americana rockers Musik Mafia and fusion band Maximus Orchestra will provide the melodies while spoken-word artists like Listen kick the philosophy, with each act’s set blending into the next like a living mix-tape, all while painter Rachel Kice interprets the music through her brush strokes. The audience will not only receive an audiovisual experience, they will be able to influence what they hear and see by randomly drawing slips of paper emblazoned with different themes and submitting them, by way of inspiration, to the performers. After the main event, Audity Central will stay for a party that rolls till 3 a.m. The Castle Door
—Mark Mays
Saturday, 11th
Beulah Over the course of their first three LPs, these San Francisco alt-rockers went from sketchy kitchen-sink orchestrations to rich pop wonderments, with up to 18 instruments swirling about while deftly avoiding collision. A neat trick, but having proved it could be done, Beulah shed personnel for album number four, Yoko, a record that isolates the melancholy strain that always ran through the band’s mini-symphonies. Singer-songwriter Miles Kurosky wallows a little on the record, working with producer Roger Moutenot to redirect the band’s brass hangings and string washes into moments of relief rather than letting them define the mood. The album’s sense of mournful abandonment can be relentless at times, but the band hit a good stride with tracks like the dour opener “A Man Like Me,” which lightens a self-pitying mood with some lovely guitar shimmer and a few moments when the melody swoops upward. 12th & Porter
—Noel Murray
Monday, 13th
Bettie Serveert Ever run into an old friend who’d seemed to have lost their way, but all of a sudden startles you with how assured and self-aware they’ve become? Bettie Serveert’s recent Log 22—a grand, damn-near-brilliant stroke of self-revelation and experimental pop-rock—strikes that kind of chord. The Amsterdam quartet joined the early ’90s indie-rock parade with 1992’s striking Palomine. But considering how eccentric their charms were then, who would have expected them to be hitting their peak 11 years later? These days, singer Carol van Dyk uses her dreamy, playful voice like a commanding actor; her conversational style pulls you into a song like someone sharing an intimate conversation—which she often is. Guitarist Peter Visser avoids all the usual clichés as he snakes and coils around van Dyk’s lyrics, but their strengths now come from how they fill their songs with sweet, smart surprises. Bettie Serveert have always been a strong live band, as Visser allows his guitar-hero side to expose itself in ways it does only sparingly on record. The End
— Michael McCall
Tech N9ne Like that of many Midwestern MCs, Tech N9ne’s sound carries the deadweight of excessive West Coast rap influence. Which is unfortunate, because it may lead to a dismissal of the rapper’s work as mere imitation, when buried beneath the low-rider bounce that dominates many of the beats on Tech’s records lies an MC with depth, wit and the creativity to establish himself as a real star. Indeed, Tech possesses a rebel’s sensibility yet is hampered by a conformist’s complacency. The latter might diminish any admiration among hardcore heads; however, Tech’s music is more than funky enough for all high rollers and ballers to swerve to. He’s part of the “Wicked Wonka Tour” with Insane Clown Posse, Kottonmouth Kings and Bone thugs-n-harmony. Municipal Auditorium
—Mark Mays
Wednesday, 15th
Allison Moorer There’s no greater indictment of modern country music than its failure to make room for remarkable and distinctive talents like Moorer. The last time she performed at 12th & Porter, she recorded an outstanding concert album and DVD, Show, her fourth and final album for the Universal Music Group. In its way, the set capped her previous five years, surveying her most powerful songs while displaying, without any Pro Tools artifice, the expressiveness of her steamy alto and the boldness of her evocative, take-no-prisoners songwriting. Moorer recently signed with respected independent Sugar Hill Records, so she’ll continue to create one-of-a-kind albums, but she’ll no longer compete within the restrictive confines of country radio. Making a hometown stop amid a national tour, she’ll perform an acoustic show that likely will indicate where she’s headed next. 12th & Porter
—Michael McCall
Theater
Fool for Love The plays of Sam Shepard usually evoke strong audience reactions, and in his own unique way, the author might be considered the quintessential American playwright of the past 25 years. Fool for Love ranks up there with his best work, and Mockingbird Theatre presents Nashville’s first professional Equity production of this tale set in a seedy motel somewhere out West. The production is a collaboration of sorts, with BroadAxe Theatre’s artistic director Jeremy Childs directing a fine cast that includes David Alford, Jenny Littleton and Josh Childs. There’s every reason to believe that this is the dramatic stage event of the fall theater season. The play opens Oct. 10 at TPAC’s Johnson Theater for a solid run through Oct. 18. For tickets, phone 255-ARTS.
—Martin Brady
Warrior This restaging of Marcus Hummon’s musical about the life of Native American athlete Jim Thorpe features new material from the author and the added benefit of more elaborate production values, including its presentation in a major performing venue, TPAC’s Polk Theater. Bill Feehely directs the Actors Bridge company, featuring Little Big Town lead singer Jimi Westbrook in the lead role. The show runs for two public performances, Oct. 10-11. For tickets, call 255-ARTS. See the story on p. 69.
—Martin Brady
Ten Little Indians Agatha Christie is everyone’s favorite old-school mystery novelist, but the grande dame of whodunits has also had a goodly number of her stories successfully translated into entertaining stage vehicles. The characters may seem a little stock and clichéd, but audiences love to play along with the puzzlement, all the way to the surprise ending. Chaffin’s Barn Dinner Theatre will serve up its typical buffet dinner along with intriguing plot clues in its treatment of this Christie classic, which finds the guests at a country house on the English coast pondering macabre events and strange disappearances. Charles Burr directs the play, which runs Oct. 14-Nov. 15 on the Barn’s Mainstage.
—MARTIN BRADY
Crummels Veteran Welsh actor Mansel David is well known throughout the British Isles for his performances in classical drama and the plays of Tom Stoppard, as well as his appearances on BBC radio and television. He has also entertained thousands throughout Europe and the U.S. with his dramatic one-man rendering of the colorful characters in Charles Dickens’ Nicholas Nickleby. David performs the piece Oct. 10-11 at the Rutherford County Center for the Arts in Murfreesboro. For tickets, phone 904-2787.
—MARTIN BRADY
Comedy
Rodney Carrington: The Nut Sack Tour Carrington doesn’t exactly represent the high-brow side of comedy, but the Longview, Texas, native has gained a following with his decidedly blue—even raunchy— good-ol’-boy shtick. He recently joined the roster of Capitol Records, and his new CD, Nut Sack, finds him probing the netherside of life and love in a mode that apparently appeals to enough people for him to pack ’em in at Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium. If album cuts such as “Don’t Look Now (your momma’s got her boobs out)” and “Letter to My Penis” are up your alley, you can secure tickets for the Oct. 11 show by calling 255-ARTS or visiting www.ticketmaster.com. The new CD also includes a duet with Lisa Cochran, “It’s Too Late,” which offers a sobering reminder of the role alcohol often plays in relationships.
—Martin Brady
Comics From NBC’s Last Comic Standing Yet another example of television’s attempt to award everyone their 15 minutes of fame, Last Comic Standing, hosted by Jay Mohr, is American Idol for stand-up comedians. Three contestants who made an impression on the American televiewing audience—Rich Vos, Corey Kahaney and Dave Mordal—ingratiate Nashville with their material when they appear at Zanies, Oct. 9-11. Call 269-0221 for reservations.
—Martin Brady
Art
Renaissance Regional Art Exhibit/The Renaissance Center The Renaissance Center, located just off Highway 46 in Dickson, is hosting its fifth annual juried Renaissance Regional Art Exhibit. If you haven’t been to this facility, it’s worth the 45-minute drive to check out what an “art and technology center” has to offer the public beyond the viewing space. This opportunity to display work here seems especially significant to emerging artists, explains Curtis Southerland, visual curator for the center. “We have found some new and unique talent in each of the previous regional exhibits,” he notes, adding that such talent has been invited to come back for solo exhibits. The juror for this year’s show was artist and educator Terry Thacker, who had the difficult task of choosing the 33 finalists from a total of 376 entries from 12 states. He’s also an active lecturer and reviewer, having written for various local publications and having recently spoken at the Frist Center for the Visual Arts. As chosen by Thacker, the 2003 Regional Art Exhibit offers a variety of media to contemplate, including audio, sculpture, experimental photography and printmaking. “I look for work that is conscious of itself in history or as a cultural form,” he says, noting his interest in the decadent aspect of each piece. The Rococo period and its multilayered characteristics, he points out, suggest a complex psychological culture similar to our contemporary society. This aspect is exemplified with such pieces as “Sounds Falling Outside of Speech” by Kenny Jones, consisting of foam, wax, ceramics, wood, speakers, audio bites and crushed red velvet pedestals, or Billy Renkl’s use of the extragalactic as stitched deco in “Proposal for fabric to be made into a vestcoat for Galileo.” The show will be on view through Nov. 15, 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Sat. For information, call 740-5600.
—Julie Roberts
Furniture of the American South/Cheekwood Museum of Art This Saturday marks the opening of a notable exhibit at Cheekwood focusing on 17th, 18th and 19th century furniture from the South. On loan from the Colonial Williamsburg Collection, “Furniture of the American South, 1680-1830” represents one of the most expansive exhibits of its kind, encompassing tables, chairs, cases and bedsteads from the Chesapeake, the Carolina Low Country and the Backcountry, the three main regions of Southern settlement in the colonial era. For anyone interested in handcrafted woodwork, this is a don’t-miss event. “It is really an amazing collection,” says Lisa Porter, curator for decorative arts at Cheekwood, “and a great opportunity to discuss the finer points of veneer and inlay. The exhibit offers not only beautiful objects and history, but a chance to see how early Southerners interacted by making and using these pieces of old furniture.” The show runs through Jan. 4.
—Jonathan Marx
Events
Musica unveiling The press about Alan LeQuire’s new sculpture in the Music Row Roundabout has set tongues wagging all over town. LeQuire’s work is cast in the classical tradition—you know, like Michelangelo’s “David” (wink, wink!)—and the pertinent buzz is all about how anatomical correctness will play in the shadow of the ASCAP and BMI buildings, not to mention how the statue of Owen Bradley, seated peacefully at his grand piano in the park across the way, will feel about it. This is something of an ironic twist on the popular notion of whether size matters, given that Musica happens to be the largest bronze figure group in the United States. But without question, it’s going to be a major community event when the sheets are pulled off LeQuire’s long-awaited artwork. The celebration takes place this Saturday and will feature performing artists from many genres, including master of ceremonies Maura O’Connell, the W.O. Smith School choirs, the African drumming ensemble Djembefole and Mondo Pingus. An art show kicks off the festivities at 3 p.m. in Owen Bradley Park, with participating groups including Untitled, Creative Artists of Tennessee, Nashville Artists Guild, Tennessee Artists Guild, Tennessee Association of Craft Artists and students from Belmont University and Watkins College of Art and Design. The sculpture unveiling and live music will take place from 5:30 to 10 p.m. Getting there will be made easier by a trolley that provides transportation both to and from the event site. (There are seven different pick-up and drop-off spots across town.)
—Martin Brady
Carl Bernstein Along with his Washington Post investigative partner Bob Woodward, Bernstein broke the Watergate scandal that brought down the Nixon White House during the early ’70s. With the publication of their best-selling books, All The President’s Men and The Final Days, the two Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists became pop-culture heroes—thanks in large part to onscreen portrayals by Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman. Since then, Bernstein has continued to take on the pathologically powerful; his best-selling papal biography Pope John Paul II and the History of Our Time came out in 1996, and his biography of Hillary Rodham Clinton is due out this year. He is also a contributing editor for Vanity Fair and has been openly critical of the “idiot culture” that drives contemporary news coverage. Bernstein appears Thursday, Oct. 9, as part of the Gordon Jewish Community Center’s Speaker Series. Call 356-7170 for information.
—Paul Griffith
nashville comics & horroR show Blood-dripping, gut-ripping terror—and maybe a T-shirt—is the fate that awaits those brave enough to venture into Nashville’s largest horror convention this weekend at the Tennessee State Fairgrounds Agricultural Hall. On hand will be scream queens Linnea Quigley (of Hollywood Chainsaw Hookers fame), Sasha Monet (Toe Tags) and Debbie Rochon, who doubles as a columnist for Joe Bob Briggs when she isn’t brightening the likes of Scrotal Vengeance. Comic-book writers and artists such as Brian Stelfreeze (Batman: Shadow of the Bat), Eric Powell (The Goon) and Bruce Jones (The Incredible Hulk) will sign their work, and wrestling stars Trinity, The Goddess Athena and Kid Cash will greet fans and vanquish enemies. And if that’s not enough, Nashville’s coolest ghoul, Channel 19 horror host Dr. Gangrene, will spew the grue along with horror experts Randy Fox and Jonathan Malcolm Lampley. The hideous spectacle is sponsored by Comics City/Outer Limits Comics, and admission is $3 Sat.-Sun. For info, see www.chillercinema.com.
—Jim Ridley
TPAC Grand Opening After more than a year of extensive renovations, the Tennessee Performing Arts Center will open its doors to the public with a full schedule of festivities to celebrate its new Andrew Jackson Hall lobby. TPAC is inviting the community to visit the center free of charge 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Oct. 11, during which time children can take part in a “treasure hunt” featuring the art and architecture in the new lobby. TPAC Education teaching artists Rachel Sumner, Kathleen Lynam and Jon Royal will perform music, puppetry, theater and more. Free refreshments will also be served. TPAC’s $7.9 million improvement project, which began in July 2002, marks the first major renovation of public spaces in the center’s 23-year history. Features of the new Jackson Hall lobby include a three-story expanse of windows, two rounded balconies with stunning exterior and interior views, an interactive work of art featuring a 40-foot floor mural, a 30-foot-wide wall of water and three times the number of facilities in renovated rest rooms. For more information on the renovation and opening activities, visit www.tpac.org.
—Martin Brady
Film
Kill Bill, Vol. 1 From its very first seconds, the Fourth Film by Quentin Tarantino (as it’s pompously being poised) is a collection of stylish tics of varying silliness, a massive retrenchment from the maturity of Jackie Brown. Missing in action are the endearingly trashy dialogues that redeemed Reservoir Dogs; actually, the QT picture this most resembles is the Tarantino-scripted Natural Born Killers, complete with pointless shifts to animation and black-and-white, cartoonish bloodletting and only the crudest of psychological motivations. Uma Thurman, playing what must be the most inert character at the core of a QT film, slices through the mayhem like Charles Bronson in a yellow jumpsuit. Defenders will stubbornly insist on withholding judgment until February’s follow-up, but only a blind swordsman would be unable to recognize an overhyped filmmaker coasting on warmed-over cool; even as a first half, this is some undeniably stupid shit. Perhaps Jim Ridley disagrees; his review is on p. 74.
—Josh Rothkopf
Intolerable Cruelty Joel and Ethan Coen follow up the chamber noir of The Man Who Wasn’t There with this windup screwball farce about a divorce lawyer (George Clooney) who gets his comeuppance when he falls for a client’s bewitching wife (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Nashville-based soundman Peter Kurland remains the only technician to have worked on every Coens film—including this one, which opens Friday.
—Jim Ridley
Bonhoeffer Martin Doblmeier’s documentary examines the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the young German theologian who became one of Hitler’s most committed foes—and who believed strongly enough in man’s duty to confront evil that he would either kill or die in the attempt. The film opens Friday at the Belcourt. After the 7 p.m. screening on Tuesday, Oct. 14, a panel of theologians and divinity professors from Vanderbilt and Lipscomb will discuss Bonhoeffer’s life and the ethical questions it raises. See the article on p. 74.
—Jim Ridley
House of the Dead An island rave turns into a bloodbath in the movie version of the gore-gushing video game. It starts Friday, along with the alien-pup kiddie comedy Good Boy!
—Jim Ridley
Southlander Rory Cochrane (Dazed and Confused) stars in this scruffy indie picaresque about a musician searching the L.A. underworld for his stolen gear. His search leads to lots of musicians in featured roles, including Hank Williams III, Beck and Beth Orton (in her film debut). The movie gets a special screening Thursday at the Belcourt.
—Jim Ridley
