Wednesday, July 24
Insect Factory
Greenhaus
2227 S. Preston St.
$6; 7 p.m.
Insect Factory largely lives up to its name. The solo project of Maryland native Jeff Barsky, Insect Factory is built around guitar drones and skittering noises, evoking a sound that is both looming and spidery at once. Barsky’s stark improv is iridescent, shimmering in the heat and embracing the listener in glimmering sonic waves. A touring veteran since the ’90s, Barsky has shared the stage with acts like Nels Cline and Lungfish, and returns to Louisville for the first time since 2008’s experimental music festival Terrastock. Opening, local noise gurus Tim Barnes and Connor Bell are collaborating as mAAs, which sees the pair improvising with electronics and synths to create what is likely to be a unique and meditative experience. —Syd Bishop
Wednesday, July 24
Perhaps
Lisa’s Oak Street Lounge
1004 E. Oak St.
facebook.com/pages/Lisas-Oak-St-Lounge
$5; 8:30 p.m.
Perhaps is an experimental/space-rock band from Boston that combines three things that often do not go together: progressive rock, jazz and classical music. Their latest, Volume One, is a one-track, 37-minute experimental album that takes listeners on a mind-opening musical journey as it invokes elements of ’60s psychedelic rock, smooth jazz, punk rock and many other sub-genres. Their improv takes so many twists and turns that it can send you into deep relaxation one minute, then rockin’ out the next. The band has been performing with various experimentalists this year, including Acid Mothers Temple, Hawkwind and Damo Suzuki. Tonight, they perform with local openers Madame Machine and Skin Tone. —Charles Bowles
July 25-Aug 4
‘Reduction in Force’
The Bard’s Town
1801 Bardstown Road • 749-5275
$12-$15; 7:30 p.m.
“Reduction in Force” is Patricia Milton’s comedic take on the economy — a satirical glimpse at the corporate world seen through the eyes of a woman in the midst of a massive layoff. Anita Green struggles to keep her job just as much as she struggles to keep her dignity, dealing not only with an economic crisis but also with fraud, ageism and even a bit of romance. After premiering in California in 2011, “Reduction in Force” won The Bard’s Town’s open submission contest, beating out more than 400 entries. And this isn’t the last time Milton will be on the docket — confident in her abilities, executive artistic director Doug Schutte says they’ll be working with her much more in the future. —Natalie French
Through July 26
‘Art of Shawna Khalily and Joe Autry’
Goomby Gallery
414 Baxter Ave. • 797-8008
Goomby Gallery has come up with a wonderful way of saying goodbye to an artist’s exhibition. Their monthly shows end on “Farewell Fridays,” the gallery’s way of saying, “You were great and sorry to see you go.” This month’s show, with its Farewell Friday on July 26, features the work of printmaker Shawna Khalily and sculptor Joe Autry. Khalily creates prints with “human bodies acting out the human condition on paper and blocks of wood,” she says. “I’m into the way bodies look when they live. Making pictures for me is the best way I know to live through the most human questions.” Autry’s motto could be “Have chainsaw, will travel.” He’s known to carve trees, ice and stone into site-specific wonders. Goomby Gallery is showing some of his pieces made of recycled materials. —Jo Anne Triplett
Friday, July 26
Summer Music & Picnic
Foxhollow Farm
8905 Highway 329, Crestwood, Ky.
$15 (adv.), $20; 6-9 p.m.
Nothing says summer like a good old-fashion picnic, but this picnic has a bit of a twist. The biodynamically farmed property in Crestwood known as Foxhollow Farm is kicking off a series of summer events with this weekend’s festival, which features music by local favorites Appalatin, who successfully merge Latin with bluegrass, and food from a fair amount of food trucks. Grind, Wiltshire Pantry, Copper Cupcakes, Gelato Gilberto and Rooibee Red Tea are just a few that will be on hand. So if the city is giving you the summer blues, head out to Foxhollow and enjoy the country air and some favorite urban delights. Blankets and chairs are recommended. —Charles Bowles
Friday, July 26
Nones
Rudyard Kipling
422 W. Oak St.
$5; 9 p.m.
Roll the Nones! The Chicago-based queasy seasick quartet is heading for the Rud. Singer/saxophonist Brandon Bayles leads the otherwise all-female band; as he has been known on more than one occasion to reveal parts of his “downthere” while onstage, there’s something for everyone on this bill (“Let’s just say it wasn’t quite a 7-inch release,” Bayles quipped about one such event). Oh yeah, also, the music — it’s for fans of Flipper who like their punk, their noise and a sax tossed together like a fuzzy salad. The HoZac Records-affiliated crew shares this bill with Gangly Youth and White Reaper, a well-stacked bill of off-kilter counter culture. —Peter Berkowitz
July 26-27
‘Roast of John Lennon’
The Bard’s Town
1801 Bardstown Road • 749-5275
$10; 10 p.m.
It will be interesting to see The Bard’s Town’s presentation of “The Roast of John Lennon” this weekend, if only to see if it takes into account Lennon’s famously foul temper. Lennon darn near beat DJ Bob Wooler to death in the early 1960s, and his son Sean Lennon claims a screaming tantrum by his father led to a hospital trip for Sean and resulted in hearing loss. So, it’s hard to, er, imagine (see what I did there?) the elder Lennon, even in his after-life, taking a ribbing from Michael Jackson. Or Freddy Mercury. Or Amy-freaking-Winehouse. Or any other dead celebrity. But if the reputation of past roasts — from Shakespeare to Walt Disney — at The Bard’s Town is any indication, this will be hilarious. —Kevin Gibson
Tuesday, July 30
Kim Lenz & the Jaguars
Third Street Dive
442 S. Third St.
$8; 9 p.m.
Third Street Dive doesn’t usually have bands on Tuesday nights, so one might guess this is something special. Now, look up at the photo above and tell me that doesn’t look mighty fine — not to beat a dead horse, but again, especially on a Tuesday night. Kim Lenz and her band of Jaguars are as sleek and high-powered as the name they stole, so maybe take the Dive’s advice: “Bring your dancing shoes and give the hardwood a beating!” As a bonus, the rootsabilly diva has a brand-new album dropping on Aug. 20 called Follow Me, so hear some fresh songs before the rest of the universe. With local support from Laurie Jane & the 45s. —Peter Berkowitz
Through Aug. 10
‘A Closer Look: Forms in Nature’
PYRO Gallery
909 E. Market St. • 587-0106
This is creativity at work. Ceramicist John McCarthy decided to do a new series focused on his “own concerns about man’s destructive effects on nature.” His inspiration: “Aus Italien,” an interpretation of the Tuscan countryside by Strauss. You can just sense the artistic neurons sparking in McCarthy’s brain. The resulting art focuses on nature’s small details, like the unfurling of a leaf as well as the overall environment. “(I) consider not only nature’s form and beauty, but also its vulnerability,” McCarthy says. “Hence, awareness of deforestation and the daily loss of the Earth’s tree canopy, water pollution … all bring an appreciation of the balance necessary to preserve these forms in nature.” McCarthy will give two gallery talks on July 27 at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m.?—Jo Anne Triplett
Through Aug. 18
‘The Wizard of Oz’
Derby Dinner Playhouse
525 Marriott Drive, Clarksville, Ind.
812-288-8281
$35+; various times
Who knew the yellow brick road led to Clarksville? I thought most people just took the last train. Holla! Anyway, bad jokes aside, the Derby Dinner Playhouse is putting on “The Wizard of Oz” now through mid August. Based on the 1939 film, DDP is using the Royal Shakespeare Company’s version, which takes the aura of the film and transforms it onto the stage for exciting live theater. They say the production will look and sound just like the film, and all the musical favorites will be included — “Over the Rainbow,” We’re Off to See the Wizard” and “If I Only Had a Brain.” Whatever your preferred method is to cross the river — plain, train, automobile, Big Four Bridge or brick road — the great and powerful Oz is waiting. —Sara Havens
