Get August going with a cocktail and some tunes. Along with the Isthmus Martini Shaker, the calendar includes: opening week of Jazz at Five; and, more live music from The Chairs, Cobra Starship, JohNNy SiZZle, The Decemberists, Celtic Tenors, Zechs Marquise, and a round robin performance by Deerhunter with No Age and Dan Deacon.
Monday 8.3
NOTEWORTHY: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn dies, 2008.
BIRTHDAYS: Home economics media czarina/stock-market dabbler Martha Stewart, 1941; Metallica singer/guitarist James Hetfield, 1963.
Seven area restaurants, 4-7 pm. Also Tuesday-Thursday, Aug. 4-6, 4-7 pm
Nothing's better than martinis, and here's your chance to sample variations on the theme with mini martinis at Opus, Savoir Faire, Bluephies, Pedro's East and West, the Casbah and jacs. A $25 ticket and you're set for the week -- visit TheDailyPage.com/martinishaker to grab one.
High Noon Saloon, 8 pm
Of Montreal and Bon Iver are undoubtedly part of the listening library of the Chairs, an Appleton indie-rock band with an apparent penchant for hamsters and haiku. They're even bigger fans of Neutral Milk Hotel, however, and are likely to play a sparkling cover or two of selections from In an Aeroplane Over the Sea. Amo Joy! And Icarus Himself open.
Tuesday 8.4
NOTEWORTHY: Federal Communications Commission rescinds the Fairness Doctrine, 1987.
BIRTHDAYS: U.S. middle-distance track star Mary Decker, 1958; President Barack Obama, 1961.
Orpheum Theatre's Stage Door, 6 pm
Blending emo, pop-punk and New Wave via synthesizers and keytars, former Midtown vocalist Gabe Saporta and his four bandmates have been making lots of songs about kisses as of late, including 2008's "Kiss My Sass" and "I Kissed a Boy," a cover of Katy Perry's unavoidable-yet-unforgettable "I Kissed a Girl." And can you resist their current chart hit "Good Girls Go Bad," currently in heavy rotation on Z104? No, you can't. Friday Night Boys, the Plasticines and DJ Skeet open.
Wednesday 8.5
FULL MOON
NOTEWORTHY: Progressive Party est., 1912; Marilyn Monroe found dead, 1962.
BIRTHDAYS: Beastie Boy Adam Yauch, 1964.
Francesca Johnson Quartet, Mike Frost Project
100 block of State Street (Overture Center lobby if it rains), 5 pm
Downtown's annual Jazz at Five series kicks off with performances by the young Wisconsin singer Johnson, who's making her way in local jazz circles; and Frost, the sax man who's all the rage in his home base of Chicago. A warm night, good music, something cold to drink -- this is Madison in the summertime.
Indie Coffee, 7:30 pm
The Canadian musician and former television personality describes his oeuvre as "power-folk." However, with song titles like "Ron Jeremy for President" and "Frida K's Fault," it's got a sense of humor fit for party punks, nerdcore fans and people who read lots of gender studies texts. The Good Ol' Whipper Snappers open.
Overture Hall, 7:30 pm
Wurlitzer and Hammond organs, plus string bass, melodica and guitar, are just a few of the sounds that compose the baroque-pop tunes of the band that helped shift hipster culture into high gear nearly a decade ago (see Tour Stop). Heartless Bastards open.
Screamin' Cyn Cyn & the Pons, The Takebacks
UW Memorial Union Terrace, 8 pm
Two loud and lively local punk bands might just get the Terrace crowd to pogo between pitchers of Two Hearted Ale.
Thursday 8.6
NOTEWORTHY: President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Voting Rights Act, 1965.
BIRTHDAYS: Timbuk 3 singer/songwriter Pat McDonald, 1952; filmmaker M. Night Shyamalan, 1970.
Majestic Theatre, 7:30 pm
They are Irish, there are three of them, and they made their name singing the songs of old Éire. But their new album, Hard Times, focuses on the work of American composers like Stephen Foster, Randy Newman and Bob Dylan.
High Noon Saloon, 9 pm
The side project of the Mars Volta's Marcel Rodriguez-Lopez, Zechs Marquise crafts a mathy, psychedelic brand of prog-rock that's hazy and atmospheric at some moments, punchy and angular at others. El Valiente opens.
Deerhunter, No Age, Dan Deacon
UW Memorial Union Terrace, 9:30 pm
Three bands that appreciate the wild, weird noises that sometimes emerge from guitars and electronic devices converge for a show that's been billed as "round robin," presumably meaning that all three artists will set up simultaneously and take turns playing individual songs rather than full sets.
