Little Friends of Printmaking
Cabin fever is raging by this late point in winter, but Madison is serving up all manner of diversions this weekend, from the Ritz Crafters show and Bockfest to the Greater Midwest Body Painting Competition and Distill America. The calendar also includes: productions of The Road to Mecca and SPANK! The Fifty Shades Parody; a show by Amanda Lepore, storytelling by Gustafer Yellowgold, and a spectacle by the Golden Dragon Acrobats; a Noon Musicale feature Four Seasons Theatre; performances by the WCO, Felix Hell and Andrew Balio, Festival Choir of Madison, and Ancora String Quartet; and, more live music from The Ready Set, Eilen Jewell, Hot Tuna, Mark Waldoch, Tea Leaf Green, WHY?, Cribshitter with Oedipus Tex, Lou & Peter Berryman, K.Flay, Soul Asylum, PHOX, and Tegan and Sara.
Friday 2.22
NOTEWORTHY: Jefferson Davis inaugurated as president of the Confederate States of America, 1862.
Noon Musicale featuring Four Seasons Theatre
First Unitarian Society Auditorium, 12:15 pm
At this free concert, members of Four Seasons Theatre will preview works from their upcoming production of The Gershwin Songbook, which opens at Overture Center's Promenade Hall on March 8.
Loft, Goodman Community Center, 6:30 pm
This act has managed to recruit emo kids, electronic-music scenesters and even R&B fans with songs like 2008's "Love Like Woe" and 2012's "Give Me Your Hand (Best Song Ever)." With Outasight.
Bartell Theatre, 7:30 pm. Also Saturday & Thursday, Feb. 23 & 28, 7:30 pm
Madison Theatre Guild presents Athol Fugard's play about South African outsider artist Helen Martins, who, inspired by a vision, turns her home into a work of art. As a bonus, the Bartell Theatre exhibits works by Wisconsin outsider artists.
Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 pm
This folk musician stretches her emotive vocals into the realm that jazz legend Billie Holiday explored, adding splashes of blues, country and surf-pop. Though this concert will probably center on 2011's Queen of the Minor Key, she might dust off one of the lovely Loretta Lynn covers she recorded on 2010's Butcher Holler.
Barrymore Theatre, 8 pm
Celebrate Jack Casady and Jorma Kaukonen's musical longevity: Robert Christgau gave this blues-rock offshoot of Jefferson Airplane a respectable B+ in 1970, and more than 40 years later, The Salt Lake City Tribune described their live act as "intoxicating."
Redamte Coffee House, 8 pm
Beloved Milwaukee rock band the Celebrated Workingman just announced they're splitting up, but their frontman won't be mourning in private for long. Filled with raw, authentic emotion and a touch of theatricality, his vocals have earned comparisons to Morrissey's wistful croon. With Dax Odom and Mary Ogelsby.
Overture Center's Capitol Theater, 8 pm
See if guest soloist Tasmin Little plays her 1757 Guadagnini violin or the 1708 "Regent" Stradivarius she's borrowing from the Royal Academy of Music during Finzi's slow, pastoral "Introit" and Prokofiev's hefty Concerto No. 2 in G Major.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
These San Francisco-area jamsters have recorded seven zesty solo albums, but trippy yet rowdy live shows are their bread and butter. With Tumbleweed Wanderers.
UW Union South Sett, 9 pm
Though the band's 2012 Mumps, Etc. made some critics mutter "WHY?" while shaking a fist at the sky, you'll want to check out this free show if you like rock-fueled hip-hop with imagery-laden lyrics. With Dream Tiger and Astronautalis.
Mickey's Tavern, 10:30 pm
Cheeky local rockers Cribshitter will tease some craziness out of the crowd, and then Oedipus Tex will lead the way to dreamland with quiet, witty tunes fit for a cowboy's campfire.
Saturday 2.23
NOTEWORTHY: Tootsie Roll invented, 1896.
High Noon Saloon, 10 am-4 pm
More than 30 vendors show off their wares at this family-friendly indie craft fair with a clever name. You'll find handmade apparel, paper goods, home decor and more at this celebration of good design. Bonus points: Banzo food and a 3D printer demo!
Capital Brewery, Middleton, noon
Capital Brewery's release of Blonde Doppelbock is the main event, but costumes, live music and a 1K race should help pass time in between sips.
Greater Midwest Body Painting Competition
Art In Gallery, 3 pm (painting open to public); Inferno, 9 pm (runway show and party)
Body artists send their extravagantly decorated models down the runway at the Inferno, with music courtesy of Cynergy 67 and DJ Psychotron.
SPANK! The Fifty Shades Parody
Overture Center's Capitol Theater, 3 & 8 pm. Also Sunday, Feb. 24, 3 pm
This touring musical is a naughty send-up of the best-selling erotic novel Fifty Shades of Grey. A "hunky leading man" is promised.
Distill America: A Celebration of American Distilling
Inn on the Park, 6 pm
Sample the best in American spirits, along with meeting distillers from around the country.
Overture Hall, 7:30 pm
During this installment of the Madison Symphony Orchestra's organ series, Balio, the Baltimore Symphony's principal trumpeter, will join Hell, a grownup organ prodigy from Germany, for works by Bach, Genzmer and more.
First Baptist Church, 7:30 pm
The choir will honor African American music's role in the civil rights movement with spirituals by William L. Dawson and jazz standards by Louis Armstrong.
Stoughton Opera House, 7:30 pm
One of Madison's most esteemed folk duos will sing their eccentric, Wisconsin-centric songs amid the ornate Victorian trappings of the Stoughton Opera House.
Plan B, 8 pm
The transgender and fashion icon makes Madison that much more fabulous with an appearance at Plan B, with help from DJ Tim and Davina DeVille.
UW Union South Sett, 9 pm
This artist discovered her love of rap while mocking the genre with a parody called "Blingity Blang Blang." Her work has since grown more sophisticated, with her latest EP, Eyes Shut, drawing attention from Spin and Rolling Stone.
Majestic Theatre, 9 pm
Though they're most famous for "Runaway Train," their surprise radio hit from 1992, these Twin Cities alt-rockers have gained quite a bit of media attention for the new sound they debuted on 2012's Delayed Reaction. With Miles Nielsen & the Rusted Hearts and Trapper Schoepp & the Shades.
High Noon Saloon, 9:30 pm
Cheer on these local folk-pop favorites as they release a new EP they've described as a "music movie presented in full 4D smell-o-vision." With Foreign Fields.
Sunday 2.24
High Noon Saloon, 2 pm
Morgan Taylor's character Gustafer Yellowgold is a friendly creature from the sun. Taylor's multimedia family performance features live music, animated illustrations and storytelling.
Golden Dragon Acrobats: Cirque Ziva
Overture Hall, 3 pm
The veteran Chinese company blends acrobatics, dance, music, colorful costumes and ancient and contemporary music into a spectacle that should make for a memorable Sunday afternoon.
Stoughton Opera House, 4 pm
Four talented local chamber musicians kick off their 12th season together with works by Beethoven, Schumann and Mendelssohn.
Orpheum Theater, 7:30 pm
Unable to get tickets to Saturday's sold-out Passion Pit show? Don't fret. Twin tunesmiths Tegan and Sara will give Michael Angelakos a run for his money as they perform La Roux-ish synthpop from their new album, Heartthrob (see Tour Stop). With Speak.
