WEDNESDAY JULY 22
Times New Viking
BASEMENT RECORDING CHIC
After signing to Matador Records for its third LP, fans and critics worried that a higher-profile label meant that this noisy, low-fi trio from Columbus, Ohio, would mean one more high gloss indie band. But Times New Viking still eschews the polish of modern production, opting for the murky din of fuzzy guitars, muffled vocals and blown-out speakers. The determined lo-finess of it all comes complete with melodic hooks and a sloppy enthusiasm that makes this trio's blurry racket a refreshing departure from so many of today's sanitized offerings. With Lovvers and Psychedelic Horseshit; at the Magic Stick, 4120 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-9700; $10; all ages.
WEDNESDAY-SATURDAY JULY 22-25
Mose Allison
THE WILLIAM FAULKNER OF JAZZ
Next week, Mose Allison is off to California to record his first studio work in a decade, enticed there by fan-producer Joe Henry, who tells us he's been listening to Mose since his teen years in the Detroit burbs: "His singular and poetic take on songwriting — fusing jazz standard and country blues tonalities into something altogether unique and personal — influenced me the way it influenced Bob Dylan, Tom Waits, Randy Newman, Van Morrison and Elvis Costello, to name but a few equally singular artists who count Mose as a heroic signpost." But before California, the wry voice behind "Young Man's Blues" and scads of other oft-covered tunes of homespun wisdom stops off at the Dirty Dog Jazz Café, 97 Kercheval St., Grosse Pointe Farms; 313-882-5299.
THURSDAY JULY 23
Smokey Robinson
HE'S REALLY GOT A HOLD ON US
Motown is celebrating its 50th anniversary just as Smokey Robinson, one of its greatest songwriters and a longtime executive, prepares to celebrate his 70th birthday next year. In addition to helping set poetic standards for the "Sound of Young America" in the '60s, Robinson's "Quiet Storm" gave a name to the whole laid-back, soulful slow-jams radio format in the '70s, and more recently (with 2006's Timeless Love) he's added the Great American Songbook to his repertoire. We'd start naming hits, but next thing you know we'd be singing, then the wacky office gang would chime in and we'd never get Night & Day finished. DTE Energy Music Theatre, 7774 Sashabaw Rd., Clarkston; 248-377-0100.
THURSDAY-SUNDAY JULY 23-26
Shakespeare in the Park: Macbeth
OUT, DAMN SPOT!
For its ninth season of Shakespeare in the Park, Water Works Theatre Company performs the Bard's bloody tale of regicide gone awry. After a trio of witches prophesies that Macbeth will move up the ranks of Scottish nobility, eventually becoming king, he's persuaded by the cunning Lady Macbeth to get the ball rolling (so to speak) by murdering the current monarch. What follows is a cautionary tale for the power-hungry, featuring murder, ghosts, madness, suicide and Macbeth's own demise on the battlefield. At 8 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 7 p.m. Sunday at Starr Jaycee Park, located on 13 Mile between Main and Crooks, Royal Oak; performances take place through Aug. 8, and tickets are $15. Info at waterworkstheatre.com.
FRIDAY-SATURDAY JULY 24-25
Anne Frankenstein: The Musical
IT'S ALIVE!
If ever a story needed to be injected with a little levity, it's The Diary of Anne Frank. Well, er, maybe. Even if the premise makes you squeamish — a bored Anne Frank creates a monster version of herself to sing and dance with — you can't deny that it's laugh-your-ass-off funny. And only $5 to boot! This mini-play fills the late-night slot through Aug. 1, at the Ringwald Theatre, 22742 Woodward Ave., Ferndale; 248-545-5545; whowantscaketheatre.com.
FRIDAY-SUNDAY JULY 24-26
Detroit Women of Color International Film Festival
FINDING VOICE THROUGH VISUALS
In its third year, the Women of Color Film Festival features more than 25 documentaries, shorts, music videos and feature films by women from around the world, presenting film as a medium of change, advocacy and empowerment for women of color. The films cover a wide array of topics, from love and marriage to human trafficking and abortion, and a number of the filmmakers will be on hand to discuss their work with the audience. The festival also includes three film workshops covering topics such as screenwriting and breaking into Michigan's movie industry. Films screen Friday and Sunday, and workshops run Saturday at the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, 315 E. Warren Ave., Detroit; 313-494 5800; info and a complete schedule at dwcfilmfest.tripod.com.
SATURDAY-SUNDAY JULY 25-26
Orchard Lake Fine Art Show
GET YOUR ART ON, DAMNIT!
Artists and craftspeople from around the globe descend on the campus of St. Mary's Schools for this award-winning, juried art fair. Along with oodles of ogle-worthy art, the show also features artist demonstrations in glassblowing, painting and woodwork, live music, a youth art competition, and kids' activities such as candle-making, tie-dying T-shirts and plaster painting. For those willing to fork over the cash, a ticketed preview takes place Friday from 6 to 9 p.m. For $25, attendees can nosh on appetizers, guzzle wine and beer, and get a sneak peek at the artful goods. The free and public hours are 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Saturday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday at St. Mary's Schools, 3535 Indian Trail, Orchard Lake; info at hotworks.org.
SATURDAY JULY 25
Clean the D Summer Edition
SPIC 'N' SPAN THE CITY
Clock some community hours and earn good karma by joining the Woodward Avenue Action Association for a New Center neighborhood cleanup. Volunteers will weed flower beds, pick up trash, remove graffiti and do whatever else it takes to make the area look fan-fucking-tastic. T-shirts, gloves, breakfast and lunch will be provided; those interested in working in flower beds are asked to bring their own tools. Registration begins at 8:30 a.m. inside the Fisher Building, 3011 W. Grand Blvd., Detroit; for info visit woodwardavenue.org or call 248 288-2004.
SATURDAY JULY 25
Corktown Music Festival
DROP YER BEATS
The Corktown Music Festival returns for a second year, celebrating community and homegrown creativity. The free fest features three stages of music and vendors, along with the art exhibit From Detroit with Love in the nearby 5E Gallery. The electro-heavy lineup includes house master Terrance Parker, Detronik, Sicari the Assassin, G-Dub and Enemy Squad, DJ Greg Mudge, Kym White and the 20-year reunion of hardcore funk outfit Enemy Squad with members of the P-Funk All-Stars and other special guests. The sounds commence at 3 p.m. in front of Michigan Central Station, the city's most recognizable ruin, in Roosevelt Park, 2200 Michigan Ave., Detroit; info at corktownmusicfestival.com.
MONDAY-WEDNESDAY JULY 27-29
Lens on the City
SHOOTING IN DETROIT
Lens on the City is a new Learning at the Opera House workshop for amateur shutterbugs of all ages. Participants will be privy to private picture-snapping tours of some of Detroit's most photogenic sites including the Music Hall, the main branch of the Detroit Public Library and the Opera House itself. A professional photog will be on hand to offer instruction, and the eye-catching results will be displayed in a special exhibit at the Opera House. 10 a.m. Monday and Tuesday at the Detroit Opera House (1526 Broadway, Detroit) and 10 a.m. Wednesday at the main branch of the Detroit Public Library (5201 Woodward Ave., Detroit); $50 for three sessions; participants must bring their own cameras; info at 313-237-3270 or michiganopera.org.
TUESDAY JULY 28
Cursive
ROCKING TORMENT
Since the release of its debut LP in '97, Omaha's seminal four-piece has seen hiatuses, periodic lineup changes and released one gush-over album, 2003's The Ugly Organ. At the center of it all is Tim Kasher's anguished and angsty lyricism, at once cerebral and reflective. Ranging from desperate whisper to primal scream, Kasher's vocals are backed by equally heady and frantic music featuring complex time changes, stiff guitars and, on recent albums, the addition of everything from clarinets to trumpets to flutes. Cursive tours behind their sixth and latest full-length, Mama, I'm Swollen, making a small room appearance with the Love Language and Javelins at 8 p.m. at the Crofoot's Pike Room, 1 S. Saginaw St., Pontiac; 248-858 9333; $15 advance.
Ongoing
Intergenerational Community Exhibition
ROUSTABOUTS AND SNOW-HAIRS
The Ellen Kayrod Gallery is dedicated to displaying the works of artists over the age of 60, but once a year the space hosts the Intergenerational Community Exhibition, featuring active local artists of all ages. The sixth year of the exhibit includes a mix of experienced and up-and-coming creators including Emily Linn of Detroit-centric crafters City Bird; Mario Moore, who was recently profiled in an MT cover story on six artists under 30; and young photographer Anahli Vazquez, who helped create the art benches in Southwest Detroit. Also featured are metalsmith Christine Bossler, Barbara Dorchen, Jerome Ferretti, sculptor Ray Katz, Nicole MacDonald, Sabrina Nelson and Sioux Trujillo. On display through Aug. 21 at the Ellen Kayrod Gallery, 4750 Woodward Ave., Detroit; 313-833-1300.
Ongoing
Francisco Goya: Los Caprichos
GRAPHIC FOLLY
Los Caprichos are a set of 80 prints created by the Spanish artist Francisco Goya and first published in 1799. Created during a time of economic and social uncertainty in Spain, Los Caprichos are Goya's scathing condemnation of human folly. The prints address the hypocrisy of religious leaders, the corruption of the nobility, and the triumph of ignorance and superstition over rational thought. Capricho translates as whim or an expression of the imagination, and indeed, it's with a dark and satirical humor that Goya turned humanity's crass and common foibles into some of the most iconic graphic images in Western art. This complete set of first edition prints is on display through Aug. 30 at the University of Michigan Museum of Art, 525 S. State St., Ann Arbor; 734-764-0395; umma.umich.edu.
