Staff picks
<MUSIC>
Thursday, May 31
Pearlene
Louisville, Reuben Glaser. Reuben Glaser, Louisville.
LEO: I lived in Covington during the summer of 1997, and it felt like it had — or used to have — a seedy vibe to it. Is that off-base?
Reuben Glaser: Well, I saw a stripper onstage in high-waisted, acid-washed jeans and white sneakers once. It didn’t seem out of place.
LEO: What does the title of Pearlene’s album, For Western Violence and Brief Sensuality, signify?
RG: Adult themes in a spaghetti Western.
LEO: What made you decide to make the transition from duo to band?
RG: We wanted to make less money and deal with more extreme, difficult personalities, and we wanted to do it loud. Also, it was called the Jesse Ebaugh Trio, and there were only two of us. That didn’t seem right.
LEO: Gas is $3.60 a gallon now — kinda ridiculous. Say you’re a profitable yet benevolent oil czar. How would you lower them?
RG: Fire-bomb suburbia. Wait, benevolent? Flower-bomb suburbia. Or maybe I’d just try living with a lower profit margin or using my resources to aid in the development of sustainable sources of energy. But that’s crazy talk.
LEO: What was it like working with (producer) John Curley?
RG: Like being able to breathe underwater. Magical. John likes tape and warm fuzzy sounds. John is good people. —Mat Herron
The Rudyard Kipling
422 W. Oak St.
636-1311
$TBA; 8 p.m.
<MUSIC>
Friday, June 1
John Butler Trio
From the moment he inherited his grandfather’s 1930s-style dobro, the musical journey for John Butler has never faltered.
The refreshing aspect of this jam/rock/protest/roots configuration is Butler’s frankness about the meaning behind each track of Grand National, the group’s new record. In reading the track-by-track explanation of each song at his Web site, Butler ruminates on themes that are as timeless (love on “Funky Tonight,” and “Losing You”) as they are topical: the post-9/11 world in “Fire in the Sky,” and taking jabs at the Bush administration for its lackadaisical response to Hurricane Katrina on “Gov Did Nothin’.”
Joel Burleson, of the Richmond, Va., group Ki:Theory (think Beck, Gorillaz and Sparklehorse), flies solo on this show, supporting a new acoustic EP Save Our City. —Mat Herron
Headliners Music Hall
1386 Lexington Road
584-8088
$15 (adv.), $18 (door); 9 p.m.
<FEST>
June 1-2
Americana World Festival
Louisville residents will be able to celebrate our community’s diversity at this two-day fest, which moved this year from the Belvedere to the Community Center on Southside Drive. The event will start Friday evening with a concert by Caribbean Conspiracy, so expect high-energy music from the islands.
The majority of activities will be held on Saturday, with Latino, African, Bosnian and Vietnamese exhibits and performances. You can grub down on great international foods while perusing the doings.
There’s live entertainment again Saturday, including jazz, Bosnian music and salsa. No alcohol is allowed, but you are encouraged to bring lawn chairs for the concerts. You know you need a break from the couch to squeeze a little culture into your life anyway. —Erin Clephas
Americana Community Center
4801 Southside Drive
366-7813
Free; 7-9 p.m. (Fri.), 2-10 p.m. (Sat.)
<ENLIGHTENMENT>
June 1-3
Sufi Workshops with Adnan Sarhan
One consequence of today’s globalized society, with beliefs and customs crisscrossing the world, is spiritual movements that are a hybrid of faiths and customs. That includes variations on the Islamic mystic tradition of Sufism, which practices different ways of connecting with the divine, spiritual truth, or God. Today there are several non-traditional, non-Islamic Sufi movements, such as one variation, established by Adnan Sarhan. This Sufi teacher uses drumming, dance, breathing and movement exercises, meditation, chanting and whirling, to release tension from the body and create contentment. If it really works, then do you think Kentuckians might throw away their booze and their drugs? —Elizabeth Kramer
Yoga East
2226 Holiday Manor Center
425-5415 or 551-3966
www.yogaeast.org
$10 (Fri), $50 (one day), $90 (Sat.-Sun.);
7-9 p.m. (Fri.), 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (Sat.), 11:30 a.m.-6 p.m. (Sun.)
<BEER>
Saturday, June 2
Fest of Ale
The beer gods are uniting for one very special event this weekend — Keg Liquors in Clarksville is holding its second annual Fest of Ale on Saturday. And the focus is on craft and import beers. Just check out these numbers: 10 breweries, two importers, three craft beer distributors and more than 100 craft and import beers. Of course, locals BBC, Cumberland and New Albanian Brewing will be there to serve up delicious adult nectar. Food will be provided by Mark’s Feed Store, Bistro New Albany Co. and Buckhead. All told, it’s a great chance sample the sort of beer that actually makes you a better person. —Sara Havens
Keg Liquors
617 E. Lewis and Clark Pkwy.
Clarksville
(812) 283-3988
www.kegliquors.com
$25 (adv.), $30 (door); 2-6 p.m.
<theater>
Saturday, June 2
Actors Theatre’s Biennial Prop Auction
Remember those cool Barbie dolls from “When Something Wonderful Ends”? Covet that quilt from “A Tuna Christmas”? Now you can own them! Actors Theatre of Louisville is auctioning more than 150 items at its biennial prop auction.
Hand-crafted items, large and small, will be up for bid. The whimsical and novel include a Pegasus from “As You Like It” and the statue of the King of Bohemia from “Sherlock Holmes: The Final Adventure.” Furnish your house with kitchen cabinets from “Gem of the Ocean” and a Gründerzeit chair from “I Am My Own Wife.” Oddities include the cake from a 2007 Humana Festival short play, “Mr. and Mrs.,” a large carving of a red flower from “Hair” and a large marquee-style sign from “My Fair Lady.” Also on the auction block are oversized posters from several productions, including “Italian American Reconciliation,” signed by the cast, crew, designers and legendary director Jon Jory.
Don’t miss the free preview party on June 1 from 6-8 p.m., where you can place proxy bids. —Sherry Deatrick
Actors Theatre of Louisville
Third and Main streets
584-1205
$5 (auction only), $20 (dinner, drinks, auction); 5:30 p.m.
<MERRIMENT>
June 2-July 22
Renaissance Fair Returns
The Highland Renaissance Faire is staging a return this summer, so ready thyself for merriment. There will be much dancing and rejoicing for maidens and men. Eat, drink and be merry with period food and beverage; revel at the rivalry of live jousting and hand-to-hand combat. For more relaxing festivities, entertain thyselves with jugglers, dancers, a birds of prey show, acrobats and human chess. Fear not ladies and lords, there will be ample artisan booths to spend your schillings and take home a souvenir. For those who fancy themselves a troubadour, musicians will be joining the festivities as well. Bring ye your wee lads and lasses, for they will have their pick of games and hand-powered rides. Watch as they learn to shoot a bow, ride a horse, climb a rope ladder and more. For those inclined to dress for the occasion, costume rental or purchase will be available and is encouraged. —Mary Burton
Hwy. 22, near Eminence
(859) 727-3917
www.kyrenfaire.com
$6-$12; 10 a.m.-7 p.m.
<BOOK>
Tuesday, June 5
Author Johanna Edwards
It doesn’t take more than four pages to get hooked on “How to Be Cool.” Author Johanna Edwards writes her stories and characters as if they’re living in a real, nonfiction world — a few times already I’ve been tempted to Google main character Kylie Chase to see how I can sign up for her How To Be Cool class. Kylie grew up as the awkward and alone high-school outcast. Since graduating, she’s dropped 75 pounds, moved to Chicago and has a sweet job teaching people how to attain the “it” factor. Although she may look put-together and confident on the outside, inside she’s still that frumpy fat girl from algebra class. “I’m eternally nostalgic for anything that reminds me of high school, even though that was one of the crappiest periods of my life,” she says as she turns up the radio blaring the Gin Blossoms.
Johanna Edwards will read and sign copies Tuesday night at the Barnes & Noble at the Summit. Perhaps she’ll share some advice on how to act cool, even if, deep down, you’re a big fat dork. —Sara Havens
Barnes & Noble Booksellers
4100 Summit Plaza Drive
327-0410
Free; 7 p.m.
<ART>
Through July 30
The ‘art’ in Artemisia
The walls of Artemisia are looking mighty good lately thanks to their collaboration with the Kentucky Museum of Art and Craft. Their latest display is a group show of works by Mary Herbert, Melvin Rowe and Shannan Wells.
Wells’ paintings are full of flattened, Dr. Seuss-style architectural elements painted in bright colors. Locally, her style is her own and easily recognizable once you’ve seen it, as in, “Isn’t that a Shannan Wells?”
Rowe, too, is someone with name recognition. The ceramicist has his popular shop, Pottery Rowe, on Frankfort Avenue, which is full of his various production lines. The fine art pieces at Artemisia are based on exposed rock formations.
Herbert is perhaps the newbie of the group, although as a grandmother, she may be happy I called her that. The painter is an instructor at Mudpies Studio in Middletown.
Artemisia is the place to go if you need a little nourishment for your eyes as well as your stomach during the next First Friday Trolley Hop on June 1. — CONTACT _Con-419CB26F17 c s l Jo Anne Triplett
Artemisia
620 E. Market St.
589-0155 (KMAC)
www.kentuckyarts.org