#5: Kings Go Forth at Turner Hall.
Why? Because they’ve been working hard, making waves at A-list festivals like South by Southwest, working on “The Outsiders Are Back,” their first album on David Byrne’s Luaka Bop label, and bringing their retro soul to larger and larger crowds. The reviews are in, and “Outsiders” is earning comparisons with the likes of Sharon Jones. It’s time to welcome Andy Noble, Black Wolf and company home with a typically rollicking live show.
#4: Lynden Sculpture Garden Winter Carnival.
Why? Because it’s an art event that you can wear snowshoes to. Because curator John Riepenhoff’s “Youshow” will be a different kind of snow-ice sculpture competition – we’re guessing there won’t be any soaring Harley-style eagles. And because it marks the opening of “Inside/Outside” by the always interesting artistic team of Shana McCaw + Brent Budsberg. And because you want to howl defiantly at the gray February skies, “I am a human being!” So why not do it in front of a Henry Moore.
#3: White Material at UW-Milwaukee Union Cinema.
Why? Because no one explores the post-colonial world better than Claire Denis, the French director of films like Chocolat and Beau Travail. And her latest film is being celebrated both for her “extraordinary gift for finding the perfect image” and for the performance of Isabelle Huppert, who plays a woman holding on to her coffee plantation in a country where violent political change is immanent. Christopher Lambert also stars.
#2: Paul Silbergleit at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music.
Why? Because guitarist Silbergleit will step to the fore (from his usual role as the guitarist with the WCM’s We Six) and offer an evening of original compositions. And like other contemporary jazz composers, he’s not just taking a melody line onto a 12-bar blues. The evening will include different combinations of instruments (not just the usual guitar trio), and will include trumpeter Jamie Breiwick and percussionists David Bayles and Terry Smirl. Silbergleit calls these pieces “off-the-beaten-track,” and we’re all ears.
#1: Murder at the Howard Johnson’s at In Tandem Theatre.
Why? Because you’ve stormed the state capitol, written your State Senator, watched Libya on CNN, slogged through exhaust-tinted slush, and endured Oscar hype. Isn’t it time you got a little silly? Or at least applauded the silliness of others? Because nothing says “Murder Mystery” better than HoJo’s, and you can bet your fried clams that there will be plenty of comic mayhem, double entendres and eye-popping sport-coat plaids in this look at a ‘70s love triangle gone bad.
