NIGHT & DAY

11/7/2009

The Hot Mess Chronicles!

Abreact Playhouse, Detroit.

In lieu of its annual performances of Night of the Living Dead: The Musical, the Abreact crew has cooked up a special Halloween treat for its loyal fans. The Hot Mess Chronicles features four original plays described as being in the style of The Twilight Zone or Creepshow. The intriguingly titled lineup features Varken's BLT, The Devil Went Down to Taylor, Pumpkin Love and Night of the Living Abreact: The Show that Wouldn't Die — all works sure to provide chuckles and goose-bumps. At 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, 5 p.m. Sunday at the Abreact Performance Space, 1301 W. Lafayette Blvd., Detroit; 313-378-5405; theabreact.com; additional performances on Nov. 6 and 7.

11/7/2009

Work and Tumble: Photocopier as Illuminator

Design 99, Hamtramck.

It seems every month a new art show takes over Hamtramck's Design 99, and November's no exception. The new exhibit, Work and Tumble, features work from 12 local artists, among them a clutch of pretty well-known people in the local art scene, including Scott Hocking, Kristin Beaver, Scott Northrup and Ben Hernandez. Curated by Nina Bianchi and zinester Steve Hughes, it's no surprise the show's centerpiece is a photocopier. Sure, they'll have your typical "art that hangs" for sale, but copier jockeys Bianchi and Hughes will happily photocopy the art for you for a measly dollar. What a scheme! (It's like printing money.) The opening (free beer!) goes from 7 to 10 p.m. at Design 99, 3309 Caniff, Hamtramck; 313-576-6941; visitdesign99.com. The show will be up through Nov. 28, open for viewing 1-5 p.m. Saturdays.

11/7/2009

Night of 1,000 Lurches

Small's, Hamtramck.

That Oct. 31 has come and gone doesn't mean the Halloween madness must stop. And leave it to the folks at Small's to devise one more kitschy celebration — a rock 'n' roll costume party honoring the lumbering and taciturn Addam's family butler, Lurch. The 3-D Invisibles will perform their signature brand of monster movie-inspired surf punk, while the devilish dames of Hell's Belle's Burlesque will shimmy and sashay their way into the hearts of even the most sluggish Lurches present. By 2 a.m., everybody should be doing the Lurch! At 8 p.m. at Small's, 10339 Conant, Hamtramck; 313-873-1117; $8, $5 if you come dressed as Lurch.

11/8/2009

Tab Benoit

Callahan's Music Hall, Auburn Hills.

Swampy blues and boogie.

11/8/2009

Shaolin Warriors

Macomb Center for the Performing Arts, Clinton Township.

China's renowned Kung Fu experts demonstrate the 1,500-year-old marital art in a choreographed show featuring all the high-flying kicks, midair spins and sword fights we Westerners would expect of a Kung Fu show. But the Shaolin Warriors do more than demonstrate the deadly fighting moves that many view as the entirety of Kung Fu. Instead, by re-creating a typical "day-in-the-life" of the warriors, the show depicts the dedication, discipline and devotion that practicing Kung Fu requires, as well as the philosophy that underpins this lethal (and totally badass) art form. The Shaolin Warriors perform at 4 p.m. at the Macomb Center for the Performing Arts, 44575 Garfield Rd. Clinton Twp., 586-286-2222; $17-$52.

11/8/2009

Duet at Kerrytown

Cliff Bell's, Detroit.

The musical conversation between saxophonist Donald Walden and pianist Kenn Cox lasted more than 40 years before their voices were stilled in 2008. It was a conversation "full of understanding, recollection, nuance, blues, fire and life," their latter-day collaborator Marion Hayden writes in the liner notes to Duet at Kerrytown, an amazing snippet of that conversation captured on tape in 1994 and now being released. Proceeds from the disc and Sunday's record release event go to a scholarship for deserving young musicians named for Walden and Cox. And while the disc is heavy on Monk and other jazz standards, Hayden's seven-piece Detroit Legacy Ensemble will play more music by Walden and Cox proper. The $25 admission includes a copy of the record; other sponsorship and scholarship support packages are available (call 734-845-1143). From 4 to 7 p.m. at Cliff Bell's, 2030 Park Ave.; 313-961-2543.

11/8/2009

Numero's Eccentric Soul Revue

The Crofoot Ballroom, Pontiac.

Funk Night disciples may not recognize the names, but the deep soul cuts they've been grooving to come from the likes of the acts featured in Numero's Eccentric Soul Revue. A revival of the '60s and '70s soul revues hosted by labels such as Motown and Stax, the show features soul legend and one-time Al Green label mate Syl Johnson, along with the Notations, Renaldo Domino and special appearances by locals Bobby Cook and Velma Perkins. All acts are backed by JC Brooks & the Uptown Sounds, a soul-stirring Chicago outfit. The whole shebang is happening thanks to the Numero Group, an incredible but undersung archival label specializing in shedding light on deserving musical obscurities. Trip back to the heyday of earth-shaking, heart-quaking soul and R&B at the Crofoot Ballroom, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; 248-858-9333; tickets are $20 general admission and $30 reserved seating.

11/11/2009

Campus Symphony Orchestra

Hill Auditorium, Ann Arbor.

11/11/2009

Fuji Marimba Trio

U of M E.V. Moore Bldg., Ann Arbor.