<MUSIC>
THURSDAY, SEPT. 6
Suspected Terrorists & more
Three heavyweights of contemporary punk rock share the stage Thursday night: Pink Reason and Little Claw roll into town for the first time, and Suspected Terrorists play their first hometown show since the release of their debut album.
Suspected Terrorists represent a new breed of local punk rock that has much more in common with the original cast of local yokels such as early Circle X and the roster of the extraordinary “Bold Beginnings: an Incomplete Collection of Louisville Punk 1978-83.”
“The lyrics are most important, they hold the meaning of our songs. The idea is to leave no doubt about what we’re saying and how we’re saying it,” says singer and bass player Dan Willems.
Pink Reason’s music has a distinctly Midwestern home-taper feel that blurs the lines between downer folk, industrial and mid-tempo psychedelic punk anthems with shades of goth (very light on the eyeliner). Rounding out the bill is Michigan’s Little Claw, whose debut LP was recently released on Thurston Moore’s Ecstatic Peace record label. They have a reputation for ferocious live shows, filled with loud, shimmering feedback, twisted pop and a powerful female vocalist whose lyrics verge on the psychotic. —Kristafer Albplanalp
Lisa’s Oak St. Lounge
1004 E. Oak St.
637-9315
$3; 9:30 p.m.
<WOOF!>
SEPT. 6-8
Doggie Swim
Picture Cherokee Park’s Dog Hill on a weekend afternoon. Now, imagine the dynamic dogs that frequent that space in a swimming pool. That’s how Andy Cronin, who works at E.P. “Tom Sawyer” Park, describes the park’s annual Doggy Swim. Dogs rule the Olympic-size pool just before the pool closes each summer (when the park doesn’t have to worry about health department rules as it happens just before the cement pond is drained). Certified lifeguards will be on hand. —Elizabeth Kramer
E.P. “Tom Sawyer” Park
3000 Freys Hill Road
429-7270
www.parks.ky.gov
$5 per dog (w/ proof of current vaccinations); 2-6 p.m. (Thu.-Fri.), 1-5 p.m. (Sat.)
<OPERA>
SEPT. 6 & 8
Kentucky Opera’s ‘Turandot’
“Turandot,” the traditionally extravagant opera and Puccini’s last (in fact, he was writing it when he died, and Franco Alfano completed it), reflects the allure of Asian civilizations to Italians a century ago. As in Puccini’s “Madama Butterfly,” this story features hallmark arias. It also includes tragic characters. Here, Turandot, a hardhearted Chinese princess with a penchant for torture (sung by soprano Lise Lindstrom), beheads suitors who fail to answer her riddles, before a mysterious prince named Calaf (sung by tenor Tonio DiPaolo) appears to try his fate.
Joseph Rescigno, who will conduct the New York City Opera’s production of “Carmen” later this season, leads the Louisville Orchestra in performing “Turandot,” which features eight themes based on traditional Chinese music. Director Garnett Bruce comes to this production having worked on several others during his career, including ones for Teatro di San Carlo in Naples, Italy, Cleveland Opera, Dallas Opera and San Francisco Opera. —Elizabeth Kramer
Whitney Hall, Kentucky Center
584-7777
www.kyopera.org
$40-$125; 8 p.m. (Thu.), 2 p.m. (Sat.)
<STORIES>
SEPT. 6-8
Corn Island Storytelling Festival
Your grandfather’s idea of storytelling was probably retelling the battles of Operation Market Garden while you fell asleep from boredom. The Corn Island Storytelling Festival is not your grandfather’s brand of storytelling. The festival’s premier storytellers are from across the nation and Kentucky, including Andy Offutt Irwin, an artist-in-residence at Emory University. Irwin, a hybrid of music and comedic storytelling, will make the trip from his home state of Georgia to join Jan Kinney, Mary Hamilton, Don “Buck” Creacy and others this weekend.
Ghost stories make up half the festival. A ghost walk around downtown features stories about specters at historic Louisville sites like the Palace Theatre and the Seelbach Hilton. Corn Island has four events spread over three days, and WFPK-FM will tape its “Kentucky Homefront” program Friday night. After that, storytellers take the stage at the Crescent Hill Presbyterian Church for a “Storytelling Oleo,” spinning yarns long enough to knit Christmas sweaters with. There’s no cost for the Oleo, but the three other events are $10. —Ryan Real
Various locations
245-0643
www.cornislandstorytellingfestival.org
<BENEFIT>
Friday, Sept. 7
Jacqueline Kennedy photographs
Flashback to the late 1950s and early 1960s, when John F. Kennedy was a U.S. senator and then president of the United States. Standing beside him is wife Jacqueline Kennedy (later Onassis), an image of iconic beauty and poise. She is also a person who died in 1994 of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.
The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society is holding a one-night only benefit featuring 28 photographs of Jackie Kennedy taken by Jacques Lowe. The images were bequeathed to the Society in 1998; unfortunately, these are the only surviving prints, as the negatives were destroyed in the Sept. 11 attacks in New York City. September is Blood Cancer Awareness Month, making this First Friday Gallery Hop an evening of support for all who battle diseases such as leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin’s disease and myeloma. —Jo Anne Triplett
Paul Paletti Gallery
713 E. Market St.
589-5294
$5 suggested donation; 5-9 p.m.
<SPORTS>
Saturday, Sept. 8
3rd Annual Cornhole Cup
Ohio’s always trying to steal our thunder, don’t ya think? Damn yankees. It’s widely believed that cornhole originated in Ohio, although no one really has any substantial evidence other than the American Cornhole Association is based out of Cincinnati. While doing intensive investigation by way of Web, I discovered that cornhole, in fact, probably got its start in Germany, but was rediscovered by bored hillbillies in northern Kentucky more than 100 years ago. Take that, Buckeyes!
If you’ve never played, are curious to see it played or want to form your own team and play, check out Louisville’s Cornhole Cup Saturday morning and afternoon at Waterfront Park near Joe’s Crab Shack. This annual event raises money for U of L’s STAR (Systematic Treatment of Autism and Related Disorders) program, which makes tossing bags of corn all the more worthwhile. With team names like The Corn Identity, The Corn Ultimatum, Los Cornquistadores, Corn Holio and Will Play for Beer, you can expect fierce competition for the cash prizes. —Sara Havens
Festival Plaza, Waterfront Park
896-6121
www.cornholecup.com
Free; 9 a.m.-3 p.m. (registration at 8 a.m.)
<FEST>
Saturday, Sept. 8
Original Highlands Art & Music Fest
It’s not a real block party until you close off some streets and can roam free with a beer in your hand. Add to that a stage for free live music and a couple food and drink vendors scattered about, and you’ve got yourself a fine way to spend an afternoon. The Original Highlands Art & Music Fest once again takes over the 900 block of Baxter during the second Saturday in September. Expect the usual — face painting and inflatables for the kiddies and live music and beer for the big kids. Artists scheduled to play include Brigid Kaelin (noon), Tim Krekel (1 p.m.), Peter Searcy (2 p.m.), the Shinerunners (6 p.m.) and Wax Fang (10 p.m.).
Pub Crawl Alert: The fourth annual No Cover Walk (aka “Gettin’ Drunky in Kentucky”) pub crawl through the Highlands also coincides with this festival, although the two aren’t related. As always, those interested should meet up at Outlook Inn at 7 p.m. with a thirst. This year’s journey includes 13 bars; the finish line, as always, is at Bearno’s in the Highlands. Check out the LEO Bar Belle Blog (www.leoweekly.com) for more info. —Sara Havens
Baxter Avenue (between Broadway & Highland)
www.festivalonbaxter.com
Free; 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
<MUSIC>
SATURDAY, SEPT. 8
Futureman & Black Mozart stick around
Can’t afford the $821 pajama party fundraiser at 21c on Friday? Don’t worry, neither could we.
Fear not. Roy “Futureman” Wooten and his Black Mozart ensemble will be sticking around an extra day for a free public performance. Wooten, a composer and four-time Grammy Award-winning performer with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, was once be-knighted with praise from the late, great jazz drummer Max Roach as having “the most creative approach to drumming I have ever seen.”
The Black Mozart Ensemble, which is composed of violinists and cellists under Wooten’s direction, takes its name from Joseph Boulogne de Saint Georges. Despite being adept at creating complex musical compositions, this 18th century maestro remained an outcast because of his race. —Mat Herron
21c Museum Hotel
700 W. Main St.
217-6300
www.21cmuseumhotel.com
Free; 8 p.m.
<ART>
Through Sept. 15
‘Before/After: Billy Hertz’
His life changed in an instant, but thankfully his creativity didn’t vanish. Billy Hertz, artist and gallery owner, had a seizure last year from a previously undiagnosed brain tumor. He had to relearn just about everything, eventually using his art to understand his body’s challenges and changes.
This exhibition at his namesake gallery is a series of drawings and paintings from his previous “life” and his current one. Many of the “before” works are from his beloved home in Italy, including “Olive Branches,” the last series completed before his seizure. The “afters” include scenes from the same location, only now from his memory and imagination.
The show is a personal triumph as well as an invitation to celebrate Billy’s new phase of life. —Jo Anne Triplett
galerie hertz
711 S. Third St.
584-3547
www.galleryhertz.com