THURS/1.21
BANJO KING
CHARLIE CUSHMAN & FRIENDS
Banjo phenom Charlie Cushman is so self-effacing that he's sometimes overlooked by fans, but accomplished enough that his name pops up early in discussions among the cognoscenti (like, for instance, Earl Scruggs). He's typically the first guy called when Vince Gill or Marty Stuart needs a banjo player — he's toured and recorded with both — and his list of recording credits is as long as your arm and getting longer. Friends this time include bass stalwart Mike Bub, lyrical fiddler Shad Cobb, the ever-entertaining Mike Compton (mandolin) and the redoubtable David Peterson on guitar and lead vocals. That's a plenty fearsome ensemble on its own, and they've all played together often enough that the set list should feature more than just chestnuts. But it's likely a couple of current Grammy nominees will drop by too — Michael Martin Murphey and Jim Lauderdale, for instance, since Cushman appears on both of their nominated projects. 9 p.m. at Station Inn JON WEISBERGER
WATERWORLD
PARIS UNDER WATER LECTURE WITH JEFFREY JACKSON
This Rhodes College historian's meticulous study of the great Paris flood of 1910 arrives just as tensions mount over disaster protocol in Haiti. His visit to Nashville coincides a century later to the day that the river Seine surged some 10 feet higher than its usual levels, wrecking a newly expanded and modernized Paris along with it. The book is not just a marvel of research that produces official logs, police records and newspaper reports from the week that saw Parisians climbing into boats to navigate their city streets (just after reveling in a debut electric subway system), but it's also a fascinatingly detailed lesson in man vs. nature — a compelling illustration of the way disasters uncover power structures and political affiliations, and the way good infrastructure can ultimately trump natural disaster. This should be required reading for city officials, engineers and disaster relief workers. 4 p.m. at Vanderbilt's Peabody Library Fireside Reading Room; 7 p.m. at Davis-Kidd TRACY MOORE
DAMAGE CONTROL
RUMORS
Neil Simon's playwriting career has been long and storied, with huge crossover impact into movies, musicals and television — where he actually began his career as a comedy writer in the 1950s. His inexhaustible supply of quick one-liners were the hallmark of the stage works that put him on the map, though Simon's more introspective later works exhibited some depth and even won him a Pulitzer Prize (for Lost in Yonkers in 1991). Still, easy humor is Simon's most generally accepted (and expected) bag, and this 1988 effort finds him working the farce genre with unpredictable but laugh-filled results. A dinner party at the posh home of New York City's deputy mayor goes awry as the arriving guests find both hostess and servants inexplicably missing and the man of the house nursing a strange head wound. Keeping the media and police at bay becomes the game the hoity-toity people play. Popular Nashville comic actor Bobby Wyckoff steps into the director's chair for this mounting, which features a pleasingly varied cast of nine, including Mike Baum, Trin Blakely, Lydia Bushfield, Kelly Lapczynski and Derek Whittaker. Through Feb. 6 at Chaffin's Barn Dinner Theatre MARTIN BRADY
ORANGE YOU GLAD I DIDN'T SAY THE OFFSPRING?
AGENT ORANGE
Along with Social Distortion and The Adolescents, Agent Orange completed the Holy Trinity of the early-'80s Orange County punk scene. They were among the first to blend elements of instrumental surf music with punk rock. Their seminal 1981 debut Living in Darkness no doubt provided the soundtrack for countless skate sessions throughout the '80s, and then exponentially more in the Aughts upon their inclusion on the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 4 soundtrack. Despite not having released an album since 1996's Virtually Indestructible, the band maintains a cult following and continues to tour the world relentlessly. They'll be joined tonight by local punk purists Fist of the Northstar, Noisecult and Desperate Measures. 7 p.m. at the Muse SETH GRAVES
FRI/1.22
MEEMAWESOME
MEEMAW REUNION W/JEFF THE BROTHERHOOD, MARJ! & SO JAZZY
While the coming re-emergence of bands ranging from Pavement to Soundgarden and The Faces lighting up news feeds around the globe, this one-off reunion by a couple of basement punks is the one Nashville is salivating for. It came as quite a blow when local punk trio MEEMAW decided to call it quits last year. The band's playful lightning-in-bottle mélange of nervy attitude, recklessly shambolic presentation and infectiously catchy hooks galvanized the local rock scene like a straight shot of 1977 to the jugular. What made MEEMAW so special is that they're the band that can most frustrate the bejeezus out of Nashville's pedantic songwriters and overly academic musicians, who will never figure out how a couple of snot-nosed kids could write a song with a bigger hook and more heart and soul than a lifetime's worth of lessons could ever teach them. Since the dissolution of the band, its three members have gone on to become local institutions unto themselves. Drummer Jessica MacFarland fronts the ragtag girl-punk ensemble Heavy Cream, guitarist/vocalist Daniel Pujol has tried (successfully, at that) to establish himself as a solo entity, and bassist/vocalist Wes Traylor's myriad bands — including Kintaro, Natural Child and formerly Turbo Fruits — have made him one of the most prominent fixtures on Nashville's burgeoning D.I.Y. scene. They might each be great on their own, but damn, were they exceptional together. If an Eagles reunion can last 16 painful years, than let's hope this one can last at least 16 magical minutes. 9 p.m. at The End ADAM GOLD
COUGAR TOWN
HAROLD AND MAUDE
Although Hal Ashby's 1971 film regularly joins Rocky Horror, Pink Flamingos and Spinal Tap on lists of the top cult films of all time, it's a little different: a bittersweet black comedy that also offers a life-affirming message (embrace your differences, live in the moment, the Vietnam War is bad) that would be glib and cheesy if it weren't so straightforward and touching. Harold (Bud Cort) is a 19-year-old who stages elaborate fake suicides for the discomfort of his uptight upper-crust mother. He gets a chance to embrace life — not death — when he meets 79-year-old Maude (Ruth Gordon) at a funeral (in classic screwball style, she steals his car). Harold and Maude's themes will be familiar to most viewers from generations of Wes Anderson-style "quirky outsider learns to be normal in his own way" films, but in 1971 this was fresh filmic territory. A classic soundtrack by Cat Stevens completes the experience. Midnight Jan. 22-23 at The Belcourt EMILY BARTLETT HINES
THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOLMES
SHERLOCK'S BOOK EMPORIUM BRANCH OPENING
When's the last time an independent, locally owned new-book store opened in Nashville? While you're searching the cobwebbed recesses of your memory, make plans to check out the new downtown branch location of Steve Guynn's Lebanon-based bookstore, a quirky wonderland that offers everything from movie memorabilia and models to a screening room. But if you're into those bound thingies printed on dead trees, Sherlock's offers a wide variety, paying particular attention to local and first-time authors. It's opening across from the Arcade, which should make those weekend Art Crawls even more exciting. 235 Fifth Ave. N. JIM RIDLEY
SECRETS AND LIES
HAPPY VALLEY
While we're not at liberty to divulge the exact details of the epic audiovisual experience in store for this very special edition of Nashville's premier dance night, we can tell you that when Mercy's Drew Mischke and Happy Valley's Jim O'Shea combine powers, your brain is bound to get bitch-slapped in a big way. Let's just say that you can expect one of the biggest productions the Nashville electronic dance music scene has seen in a long time — but that's all we can say. Oh, that and we maybe talked Jensen Sportag's Austin Sportag into playing a booty-house remix of Thin Lizzy's "Don't Believe a Word," which, come to think of it, might have been him pulling our leg — we wouldn't put it past him. Sportag is joined by DJs Mindub and Coach. 9 p.m. at Cannery Ballroom as part of Mercy Lounge's Anniversary Series SEAN L. MALONEY
LIONS, TIGERS, CATS AND KITTENS
DE NOVO DAHL
Move Every Muscle, Make Every Sound, De Novo Dahl's 2008 major-label debut, was a divisive release. Its sugar-rush, synthpop urgency granted DND some success with the youngster set, but singles like the youth-group feel-good anthem "Shout" left their Nashville indie-rock contemporaries somewhat befuddled. Now, after exiting the corporate wood-chipper courtesy of Roadrunner Records, completely reassembling their lineup and making a record by the name of Tigerlion, De Novo Dahl ringleaders (and the only remaining original members) Joel J. Dahl and wife Serai Zaffiro are waging a slow-but-steady comeback and hitting every Music City venue along the way. The forthcoming Tigerlion primarily features indie-rock-, folk- and even hip-hop-influenced dark pop songs that land much closer to the thoughtful ambition of acts like The Flaming Lips than anything else they've done since 2005's Cats and Kittens. What's more, it's now performed with a great-big ensemble. Other big-name locals appearing on the bill include The Non-Commissioned Officers, The Ettes, a recently reunited Apollo Up! and two surprise guests. 9 p.m. as part of Mercy Lounge's Anniversary Series D. PATRICK RODGERS
DANCING ABOUT ARCHITECTURE
VISUAL ACOUSTICS: THE MODERNISM OF JULIUS SHULMAN
In his great essay film Los Angeles Plays Itself, Thom Andersen points out that movies set in Los Angeles often use modernist architecture as shorthand for evil — all those flat roofs, sharp angles and glass planes cutting across the landscape like Roman Polanski's straight razor in Chinatown. But in the photographs of Julius Shulman, those angles are heroic, romantic: a dream of cosmopolitan aspiration. A visual treat, Eric Bricker's engrossing documentary traces the nonagerian Shulman's career from his early association with architect Richard Neutra in the 1930s, providing a thumbnail history of the birth of California modernism along the way as well as fascinating asides — such as cinematographer Dante Spinotti discussing how Shulman's photos influenced the chilly look of Michael Mann's movies. Dustin Hoffman narrates the film, which screens for one week only. Jan. 22-28 at The Belcourt JIM RIDLEY
MOUNTAIN MUSIC
DONNA ULISSE & THE POOR MOUNTAIN BOYS
The tightly knit bluegrass community can be slow to warm up to those deemed outsiders, and not even marriage into a royal family — in this case, the Stanleys — is sufficient to really shortcut the process. That may explain why, though she's put out two fine bluegrass albums in recent years, this is Ulisse's first Station Inn appearance. Following a brief Music Row stint in the early '90s, Ulisse has emerged as a thoughtful songwriter whose 'grass has some pretty strong country strains and a frequent inspirational bent that are finding a place fully in, if not right at the center of, the bluegrass world. Her recordings have leaned on A-listers like Keith Sewell, Scott Vestal and Andy Leftwich, but her road band has some players who deserve to be better known — and who, given her increasingly busy schedule, probably will be before long. Ulisse's Station Inn debut may have been a long time in the making, but it's a well-deserved one. 9 p.m. at Station Inn JON WEISBERGER
KING CHRIS
CHRIS CROFTON'S "KINGDOM COME" STAND-UP
If you haven't seen The Clutters, Ghostfinger or Chris Crofton — where have you been living, under a rock? Do you even live in Nashville? What's your problem? In any case, if you've seen Crofton's act a score of times (like I have), this show is for you: The comedian told this journalist that "people should come see me because I am about to 'break big.' Next show may be at Cheekwood with Vince Gill. At The Basement I will be discussing how to attack life itself, and win ... big. This will not be career advice. I am talking about engaging in all-out war against the limitations of human existence. I will also make pornographic balloon animals." He also tantalizingly reveals, "I don't know why it's called 'Kingdom Come.' " Sounds amazing. 9 p.m. at The Basement EMILY BARTLETT HINES
THE PERFECT DRUG
LOVEDRUG
The biggest selling points for Ohio-based indie outfit Lovedrug seem to be not what they've been playing since the year 2000, but with whom. Research indicates that they've shared stages with Robert Plant, The Killers, Juliana Theory, Switchfoot, Sam Phillips and Creeper Lagoon. This isn't to say their music isn't without merit. The familiar formula of their medium-loud dynamic and melodic indie jingle-jangle is no stranger to dorm rooms across this great nation. But with no iPod commercials, major-label failures or Gossip Girl appearances to add to their credit, the most that can be said in favor of Lovedrug's show tonight is the promise of quality, pretension-free, basic modern rock 'n' roll in a medium-sized room of quality, pretension-free, basic modern folks. 8 p.m. at Exit/In SETH GRAVES
SAT/1.23
INTO THE WOODS
RADNOR LAKE VOLUNTEER DAY
At press time, forecasts were calling for temperatures well above freezing for the fourth Saturday of the month, when, like clockwork, Radnor Lake rangers and volunteers will roll up their sleeves to work on the six miles of trails around the serene lake and ridges of the state natural area. Work gloves, wheelbarrows, water and other essentials will be on hand, so layer up and gather at the visitor center to get your assignment. Projects include mulching trails and weeding out exotic invasive plants, such as bush honeysuckle and ailanthus, that threaten to overwhelm the native species. Children are welcome to participate. Groups looking for volunteer outings at other times in the month can contact park manager Steve Ward at steve.ward@state.tn.us. 8 a.m.- noon at Radnor Lake, 1160 Otter Creek Road CARRINGTON FOX
LYNCH PIN
CLAIRE LYNCH BAND
Ms. Lynch has been hitting the road in the last couple of years with enough enthusiasm, energy and enjoyment to give the most boisterous youngster pause, and she's done so with a crackerjack band that, through several personnel changes, has been exquisitely attuned to her signature blend of strength and delicacy, melancholy and gentle good humor, folk overtones and bluegrass drive. The departure of long-time guitarist, banjo player and harmony singer Jim Hurst was recently announced — this may well be his last Nashville gig with the band. It's a loss that will surely have an impact, but Lynch has coped with previous changes before and come up shining each time. Remaining band members include the legendary Mark Schatz, whose bass talents are exceeded only by his hambone gifts, and seriously under-sung fiddle/mandolin man Jason Thomas, whose playing has exactly the right degree of lyricism to match Lynch's world-class vocals. 9 p.m. at Station Inn JON WEISBERGER
TRASH HUMPERS
ITVS COMMUNITY CINEMA: GARBAGE DREAMS
Egyptian-American filmmaker 's documentary focuses on the plight of the Zaballeen, 's underclass of indigenous garbage workers, who for 150 years have been picking up trash from people's homes and taking it back to their villages for sustenance. The movie follows Osama, Adham and Nabil, three teenage boys in Cairo's largest Zaballeen village, Mokattam, a city literally filled with garbage. Buoyed by a deep sense of faith and dignity, the boys seem at peace with the cards life has dealt them. But that existence is now threatened by globalization, as the government has begun outsourcing much of its waste disposal work to private European contractors. The travails of the 60,000 Zaballeen are compelling enough to carry the film, but Iskander digs deeply into the boys' psyches, finding ultimately a universal tale about the perils of early manhood. The movie screens free and open to the public as part of the monthly ITVS Community Cinema project, co-sponsored by Nashville Public Television and co-presented today by the Metro Beautification and Environment Commission; a reception precedes the film, along with a chance to make crafts from recycled materials. Reception 2:30 p.m., film 3 p.m. at Nashville Public Library, 615 Church St. JACK SILVERMAN
FROZEN TOMATOES
KATY K & MISS LOLLY POP'S BRRR-LESQUE
The weather may be nipple, er, nippy outside — but around the gals of Music City Burlesque, there's no such thing as shrinkage! Shore up the ol' stalagmite as cowgirl couturier Katy K and Music City's sexiest sucker Miss Lolly Pop apply some deep heat to Jack Frost's snowballs! Rub your magic lamp, and what should appear but the pride of Baltimore, the dizzying duo of Trixie Little and the Evil Hate Monkey! The costumed Monkey may go ape when he sees a little Trixie, as seen on Comedy Central's The Gong Show, but rest assured it's Trixie Little who does all the organ grinding! Yowzah! Let Kicky LaRue thaw anything blue! Watch Leela Sophina, Queen of the Air, melt that frigid air with a rigid stare! Diletta Delight warms your night up right, while the lovely Miss Monique Honeybush puts some starch in your parka with her shapely snowcones of soft, satiny sin! Tickets are $15 at the door — but feel free to get something straight between you and the ticket taker! 8 p.m. at The Rutledge JIM RIDLEY
PUPPET MASTERS
THE FROG PRINCE
Nashville Public Library has many assets, but perhaps none so specially valued as Wishing Chair Productions. Wishing Chair is under the direction of the ever-creative Brian Hull, who oversees the company's marvelous children's programming, which features the puppetry, performance and design skills of a small but mighty staff. Wishing Chair's latest effort is this music-enriched version of the famous Brothers Grimm fairy tale about a princess, a frog and the power of a magic kiss. The production will utilize the exquisitely crafted marionettes of the late, great Tom Tichenor, whose extensive collection of puppets passed to the library following his death in 1992. Fri. & Sat. Jan. 22-30; 10:30 a.m. & 11:30 a.m. in the Children's Theater at the Main Library, 615 Church St. MARTIN BRADY
MY FRIENDS?
ARMED FORCES
You've got to hand it to Armed Forces' commander-in-chief Brandon Jazz — he's busted his ass over the last year and a half to work his way into the secret cabal that's secretly destroying local music. It seems like just yesterday he was a random blog troll, squawking away on the Nashville Cream; today he's actually a respected member of the local music oligarchy — but he'll always be a troll to us! We kid. Sorta. Maybe? No, we really do love the dude. His band sounds like Spacehog meets early Fountains of Wayne, so how could we not? The four songs released in Armed Forces' The Rest is Noise free download series are tight, fuzzy power-pop totally worth your bandwidth. How I Became the Bomb, Heypenny and Madi Diaz also appear. Admission is free. 9 p.m. as part of Mercy Lounge's Anniversary Week SEAN L. MALONEY
HOOD VIBRATIONS
OLDE WORLDE THEATRE'S ROBIN HOOD
"It's about greed, power, equality," says Richard Stein, Olde Worlde Theatre's director, of their new production. This might sound like dense material for a children's play, but Olde Worlde knows how to keep it accessible. The troupe uses wordplay, audience participation and a PeeWee's Playhouse-style secret word to keep kids riveted to this satiric story while witty modern references hold adults' attention. The classic tale focuses on Robin's plucky opposition of the Sherrif of Not-a-ham's economic policies, as well as a juicy Robin/Maid Marian/Sherriff love triangle. Stein, who also plays the Sherriff, notes that the characters come to life through a collaborative process — rather than relying on scripts, actors improvise lines and use the ones that work. "It's a tricky process, but a very rewarding one, and makes for an alive show." 10 a.m. and 12:15 p.m. Saturdays through Feb. 6 at The Belcourt EMILY BARTLETT HINES
SUN/1.24
TEACHER TEACHER
BLAIR FACULTY RECITAL
Violinist Christian Teal is most familiar to Nashville concertgoers as the Blair String Quartet's longtime first violinist, but his solo recitals are also worth seeking out. Last year he completed a two-concert cycle of Bach's works for unaccompanied violin, and this weekend he teams up with pianist Jennifer McGuire for a rather more varied selection of works. Béla Bartók's Second Sonata for Violin and Piano dates from 1923 and is among the richest works of Bartók's so-called "expressionist" period. Camille Saint-Saëns adopted a Beethovenian heroic mode for his 1885 Sonata, Op. 7, which should make for an interesting comparison with Beethoven's own early Sonata Op. 12, No. 1. Blair professor Michael Hime joins as narrator for the premiere of Joshua McGuire's Two Poems by Walt Whitman. Admission is free. 4 p.m. at Blair School of Music RUSSELL JOHNSTON
MATCH PLAY
STRIKE ANYWHERE
Can a politically geared punk-rock band really make a difference in the world at large and stick to their (metaphorical) guns at the same time? Need the band ever have the popular acclaim and platform of, say, The Clash, the erstwhile Only Band That Matter[ed]? Is exposing your worldview to a few fans/friends at a time a worthwhile endeavor, or might one's energy be better spent forming a Facebook group? While nattering nabobs like me ponder our navels, Richmond, Va.'s hard-touring Strike Anywhere continue to do just that — strike anywhere, that is. Singer Thomas Barnett's left/libertarian lyrical palette includes takes on the police state, women's and animal rights, and broadsides against capitalism and globalization. In the past, he's often eschewed easy choruses in favor of some truly free verse. Formerly signed to Jade Tree and Fat Wreck Chords, the band released Iron Front (Bridge Nine) in 2009. It's by their most straight-ahead, accessible and anthemic release to date, which may or may not work in its favor. After all, it's way more romantic to be a revolutionary than it is to (rock and) roll with the rest of the world. With Ill Patriot, ModernHell and Natural Child. 9 p.m. at The End TIMOTHY C. DAVIS
MON/1.25
YOU GOT GUTS, KID
BODIES HUMAN: ANATOMY IN MOTION
Having worked at both a shadily managed menswear kiosk and a shadily managed toy-UFO kiosk in Rivergate Mall, I can't say that a collection of more than 100 sliced-up and preserved human bodies and body parts is the weirdest thing ever seen at this Goodlettsville shopping hub. Be that as it may, these cadavers, preserved and posed via a process known as plastination, make for quite a spooky but enlightening exhibition. After being dehydrated and having all of their lipids dissolved by an acetone bath (i.e. having all of their skin and fat melted off), the newly sinewy specimens (i.e. skinless corpses) are posed in a manner as to reveal the most intimate details of our very own internal anatomy. See every muscle, tendon and ligament required to dribble a basketball or throw a discus. The exhibit, as Bodies Human's website puts it, "show[s] the effects of poor health, good health and lifestyle choices." Plus it's totally trippy. Word of advice: Don't take any psychedelics before attending. At a similar exhibit in Chicago, a shroomed-out buddy of ours once totally fainted while glimpsing the waxy guts and free-floating brainstems. True story. Daily through May 1 at Rivergate Mall D. PATRICK RODGERS
FAILURE TO LAUNCH
GUYLAND KEYNOTE WITH MICHAEL KIMMEL
"What used to be regressive weekends are now whole years in the lives of some guys," author and sociologist Michael Kimmel told Newsweek recently in an interview about his new book Guyland, a timely collection of some 400 interviews with "men" ages 16-26 about a troubling new development among them: Dudes — specifically white, middle-class dudes — don't wanna grow up. So they don't. Like, at all. Instead, they're bro-ing down and bingeing it up with their buds in some sad-sack version of a bad frat-house sitcom. Think HBO's Entourage with all the beer, weed and video games, but completely bankrupt of the good looks, wealth, beautiful women, wit, talent, lucrative creative careers or a glimmer of hope in the real world. Of course, to any woman who's dated a man in his 20s in recent years, this is a no-shit study that sums up most dudes you know: They chest-pound charmingly over brews about their indisputable manhood, and yet, inevitably, their parents still pay their cell-phone bills. But, hey, that's just the cheap seats talking: Go hear Kimmel drop the knowledge in person. 7:30 p.m. at Vanderbilt's Student Life Center Ballroom TRACY MOORE
TUES/1.26
SIREN SONG
INSURGENT THEATRE: ULYSSES' CREWMEN
This production by a Milwaukee-based company that specializes in touring guerrilla theater could be terrifying, or mind-boggling, or the most pretentious thing you've ever seen: The great thing is, you won't have any idea until it starts to unfold, right there in front of you — and by that time you'll have been snared in the production's charged space. In this case, that space is the Little Hamilton house venue, transformed for the evening into a torture chamber where a militant dissenter and a bound, gagged political prisoner wage a two-handed war of ideas and radical ideals—with the audience implicated in the proceedings. Starring Kate Pleuss and author Ben Turk, the play takes place the same night as Little Hamilton's second annual $5 Art Sale, featuring work donated by local artists. 6 p.m. at 1318 Little Hamilton Ave. JIM RIDLEY
WED/1.27
LOCAL BOY DONE GREAT
JUSTIN TOWNES EARLE
Since uprooting from Nashville to Manhattan's East Village last year, Justin Townes Earle has been the local-boy-done-good several times over. He won "Best Emerging Artist" at the Americana Music Awards, GQ named him a fashion icon of '09, Esquire recommended his tune "Mama's Eyes" as one of 50 songs every man should be listening to, he rocked a frenzied mob of faces just 150 yards away from David Byrne at Bonnaroo, and his latest, Midnight at the Movies, has not only gotten rave reviews from Rolling Stone, Paste, Wall Street Journal and Mojo amongst others, it's also in consideration for three Grammy awards, including "Americana Album of the Year," where he'll be pitted against his old man's newest, Townes — Steve Earle's tribute to Townes Van Sant, the man after whom Earle the Junior was named. Tonight, young Earle makes an overdue hometown appearance alongside Dawn Landes and the Hounds and local indie-alt darling Caitlin Rose. 8 p.m. at Mercy Lounge SETH GRAVES
CAS-MIC
CASME
Score another one for the Nashville Flipside crew: It's another week and they have yet another tight urban music showcase. This week's highlight is the hyper-hyphenated actress-model-activist-singer Casme, a New Orleans native who is racking up credits all over the place. In addition to cranking out great, bouncy R&B, Casme appeared in a recent episode of Tyler Perry's House of Payne, sang back-ups for Keith Urban at the CMAs and has been making the rounds as a motivational speaker and mentor to teenage girls. We're gonna go out on a limb and just guess that she doesn't do much in the way of sleeping. Her excellent I Am Not Every Girl mixtape is available as a free download on her website (CasmeRocks.com). You should totally get clickin' on it right now. Casme is joined by former Allman Brothers ivory-tickler Johnny Neel and and local funk sensation Shawna P. 9 p.m. at Exit/In SEAN L. MALONEY
AMERICONE MUSIC
CONESTYLE
Those who caught Ocelots' amazingly sludgetastic take on TLC's "Waterfalls" at the Nashville Cream '90s cover night last summer undoubtedly remember the crisp delivery of Left Eye's rap — performed near-flawlessly by a slim fellow who hopped onstage, galvanized the crowd with one of the night's most pleasantly unexpected performances, then was gone. Well, that guy is David Camp, and he happens to play keyboards (and occasionally shriek) in a band of his own. Conestyle don't sound anything like TLC, but their stark, sometimes frantic instrumental compositions are worth chasing after. "Udars (the Epic)" manages to pull together Amen-style break beats (by a real drummer), Duster-like space-rock dirge, Boards of Canada-ish synth warps and dark, sinister bass. If Beak were half as good as people seem to think they are, they'd sound a lot like Conestyle. 9 p.m. at The End STEVE HARUCH
