Night and Day

Thursday • 14
Little Steven's Underground Garage Festival
MUSIC

Actor, E-Street dude, radio DJ and silk head-scarf enthusiast Steven Van Zandt's affinity for garage music makes him an honorary Detroiter. It's no surprise that many of his favorite young bands come from the Motor City itself. As part of Van Zandt's traveling showcase — Little Steven's Underground Garage Festival — Detroit bands the Sights and the Gore Gore Girls will perform alongside legendary rockers the Zombies, as well as Mooney Suzuki and the Woggles. At St. Andrew's Hall, 431 E. Congress, Detroit 313-961-MELT.

Friday • 15
Dylanfest
MUSIC

Even if you found yourself a little irked to find the so-called reluctant iconoclast pimping iPods on the boob tube, Bob Dylan is still the man. No amount of commercialism can ever change that. And this week, fans of the legendary songsmith congregate for a folksy tribute and a good cause. It's Dylanfest and Dirt Road Logic, the Hummingbirds, Corndaddy, Horse Cave Trio and others will play their own interpretations from the Dylan songbook. All proceeds go to the Mary Beth Doyle Memorial Fund at the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor. Door at 8 p.m. at the Blind Pig, 208 S. First St., Ann Arbor; 734-996-8555.

Friday • 15
Linenn — A Night of Anti-Success
MUSIC/FUN FOR ALL

The late night after-parties at CAID have long been a staple of the downtown hipster diet. There's good reason too — where else can the gakked-up go after the show? Furthermore, it's hard to beat the combination of sweaty, pretty people and a mad trifecta of DJs who spin the most interesting and boogie-worthy jams known to man. DJs Scott Zacharias, GreenSKY and Whittaker Soultron spin Italo, disco and obscure club tunes that make the crowd come back for more. Doors open at midnight at the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit (CAID), 5141 Rosa Parks Blvd., Detroit; 313-899-2243. A $5 donation is appreciated.

Friday • 15
Stacey Earle
MUSIC

She lives happily in the shadow of her famous brother, Steve, but Stacey Earle has chops all her own. The singer-songwriter met her hubby (and singing partner) Mark Stuart one open-mic night in Nashville back in 1991 and the two have made their way up the crushingly fickle Nashville ranks ever since. In 1998, the lovebirds started their own indie record label, Gearle Records, and they are both taking the stage as often as possible. They've opened for the likes of Willie Nelson, Joan Baez and Ralph Stanley. At Trinity House Theatre, 38840 W. Six Mile Rd., Livonia; 734-464-6302.

Saturday • 16
Mamaphobia
THEATER

Motherhood is funny. For nine months, you vomit uncontrollably, burst into sobbing tears for no apparent reason, and gain the weight equal to at least one Backstreet Boy. Then, for the next 18 years, you deal with terrible 2s, grade-school traumas, awkward adolescence and the terror of handing over the keys to the car. See? Laugh riot. Laugh through the tears at Mamaphobia: The Truth About the Comedy of Motherhood, a one-woman show by Peggy Ward. The event is a benefit for Ashley's Friends, a Howell-based nonprofit devoted to grief counseling for kids and families. Tickets are $29 and can be purchased at ashleysfriends.org. At 7:30 p.m. at the Boys & Girls Club of South Oakland County, 1545 E. Lincoln, Royal Oak; 248-544-4166.

Sunday • 17
Helena Cobban and Juan Cole
ISSUES & LEARNING

Confused about the conflicts in the Middle East? Don't allow the complexity of the issues to justify keeping your head in the sand. A good place to start is Prospects for Peace: Conflict Resolution in the Middle East, a lecture and discussion headed up by journalist Helena Cobban and University of Michigan professor Juan Cole. Both respected bloggers, Cobban is a member of the Middle East advisory committee of Human Rights Watch, and Cole is an oft-quoted and renowned scholar of the Middle East and South Asia. 4 p.m. at First Unitarian Universalist Congregation, 4001 Ann Arbor-Saline Rd., Ann Arbor; 734-665-6158. For more info, visit uuaa.org.

Sunday • 17
Artworks for Life
ARTS/FUNDRAISER

Midwestern Aids Prevention Project has put itself on the map — the group's annual gala fund-raiser is the place to purchase high-quality local art (and eat delish hors d'oeuvres and desserts). And it's for a good cause. Can the buying get any better? This 11th annual event features live and silent auctions of nearly 300 artworks and jewelry from metro Detroit's best artists. What more can you possibly say than Rico Africa, Richard Bennett, Dirk Bakker, Matthew Blake, Sandra Cardew, Sergio DeGiusti, Anne Fracassa, Dick Goody, Christine Hagedorn, Mary Herbeck, Urban Jupena, Deena Kachadoorian, Teresa Petersen, John Piet, Jo Powers, Phaedra Robinson, Karen Sepanski, Gilda Snowden and so many more. This year the event is held at Dearborn's opulent Ritz-Carlton, 300 Town Center Drive, Fairlane Plaza. For ticket reservations call Yvonne Greenhouse at 248-545-1425, extension 104.

Monday • 18
Roger Waters
MUSIC

Even though Roger Waters' most recent solo project is Ça Ira, an ambitious three-act opera about the French Revolution that features neither lasers nor floating pigs, for this Palace date he's pulling all your Pink Floyd favorites out of mothballs. No word on whether he'll be performing anything from his 1984 prog-meets-Plastic Ono Band solo effort Pros & Cons of Hitch Hiking, but you can expect such durable Floyd classics as "Money," "Wish You Were Here" and hopefully, given his recent passing, some stuff from Waters' early work with Syd Barrett. "Interstellar Overdrive," anyone? Regardless of the actual set list, Waters is a royal of rock  'n' roll's second generation, and has 40 years of material on which to draw. He's providing the hits — it's the least you can do to try and fit into that threadbare Floyd three-quarter sleeve tour shirt, and welcome him properly back to the machine. At the Palace of Auburn Hills, 4 Championship Dr., Auburn Hills. Call 248-645-6666 for tickets.

Tuesday & Wednesday • 19 & 20
Salon and Spa Days
FUN FOR ALL

There are more than 30 salons and spas in the vicinity of downtown Birmingham. So if your salad needs a trim or your pores need a cleaning, it'll behoove you to get your unkempt ass to Salon & Spa Days. Several salons and spas in the downtown area are offering $40 cut and blow-dry or mini-facial. Patrons are strongly encouraged to make appointments in advance. For a list of participating business visit enjoybirmingham.com.

Ongoing
Nature Reperceived
ART

In this exhibit, 25 artists address the relationship between the natural world and form and function. Though some artists take a magnified look at nature to reveal systems beyond human perception, others take a more direct approach. Either way, the works confront the human condition and how our perception of it relates to nature. Opening reception is 6 to 9 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15, at Gallery Project, 215 S. Fourth Ave., Ann Arbor; 734-997-7012. Ends Oct. 22.

Ongoing
Johnny Allen and Alma Smith
MUSIC

Sweet Lorraine's in Southfield is hardly on the main axis of the local jazz scene. But on Tuesday evenings, it should be. That's when — on alternate weeks — two of the city's most venerable ivory ticklers bring their deep historical roots into play. This Tuesday, Sept. 12, it's Johnny Allen's turn. His résumé goes back to the legendary (to jazz buffs) Club Congo in the Paradise Valley of the 1940s, where he accompanied the likes of the Mills Brothers and Billie Holiday. Among his numerous later credits, he joined the Motown music staff, arranged the Dramatics' gold disc "What You See Is What You Get" and collaborated with Isaac Hayes on sessions including "Shaft," for which he shared a Grammy. The following Tuesday, Sept. 19, vocalist-pianist Alma Smith brings her own distillation of the swing and bop traditions to the piano. Her 1940s trio the Counts and Countess was hot enough to warrant "soundies" — film forerunners to the music videos of today — and her 1979-1994 residency at the Rhinoceros Club was one of the grand extended gigs in this city. Allen returns on Sept. 26, Smith on Oct. 3, etc. Both Allen and Smith perform with bassists, John Dana and Will Austin respectively, and play early for a jazz affair, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. 29101 Southfield Rd., Southfield; 248-559-5985.