Friday, April 8
Irish rock band Ash stops by the Metro tonight in support of their latest release Meltdown. The Bravery is opening for ’em. (7 p.m., $14, 3730 North Clark Street)
Artistic Director Charles Newell revives his 1995 production of Tom Stoppard’s Travesties, which opens tonight at the Court Theater and runs until April 24. Actors from Court’s earlier run of The Importance of Being Earnest (which wasn’t as good as UT’s version, according to Professor David Bevington and Libby) lend their art to this play-within-a-play. (8 p.m., $8, 5535 South Ellis Avenue)
Saturday, April 9
Shhhh…..listen. It’s the mostly-music OBS Cultural Show, hosted by Kappa Alpha Psi. For 10 bucks, you get dinner, entertainment, and an after party. (6 p.m. dinner, 8 p.m. show, 10:30 p.m. party, $10, Hutch)
K Records founder Calvin Johnson is taking a break from the Dub Narcotic Sound System and playing some solo shows, including one today at Buddy Gallery. Calvin’s evidently been giving away some of his used clothing at recent shows, so maybe you’ll be just that lucky. Chicago’s The Passerines are opening for him. (9 p.m., donations, 1542 North Milwaukee Avenue, second floor)
Experimental indie-rock duo French Toast plays the Empty Bottle. (10 p.m., $10, 1035 North Western Avenue, 21+)
The Neo-Futurists kick off their newest show Patriots tonight. They’re going to look at a wide variety of patriots—including Strom Thurmond. As usual, it’s at the Neo-Futurarium. The show runs Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings through May 14. Ticket price is based on how good you are at rolling a die at the door. (8 p.m., 5153 North Ashland Avenue)
There are days when we just sit and think to ourselves: What kinds of computer music are Chicago students making these days? Imagine our relief when we found out about the Computer Music Studio Concert, with work by students, faculty, and guests. (8 p.m., Fulton Recital Hall)
The Feminism and Hip-Hop Conference started on Thursday, and tonight the event aptly concludes with an open-mic performance. Jessica Care Moore, Rokafella, Psalm One, and DJ Spontaneous are confirmed to perform. (10 p.m., International House Assembly Hall)
Sunday, April 10
Want to add to your vinyl collection? Today is the second and final day of the Third Annual WLUW Record Fair, benefiting the independent Chicago radio station. It’s going to be hosted at the Pulaski Park Fieldhouse, and it promises a shitload of records, CDs, posters, etc. (10 a.m. to 5 p.m., $7 or $5 with an ad, 1419 West Blackhawk Street)
Catch both parts of the much-hyped Best of Youth—a 360-minute film chronicling an Italian family from the 1960s to the present day. The Music Box Theatre is showing it in two parts, but you can watch it all together if your ass doesn’t go numb. (1 p.m., 4:30 p.m., 3733 North Southport Avenue)
Monday, April 11
The Wushu Club, Hwa Rang Do Club, and Genkikai Ki-Aikido Club will demonstrate martial arts and food-eating tactics from Japan, China, and Korea all week. Today is an information session on the clubs and their particular styles. (noon, Bartlett Quad)
Your classmates are gonna be on TV. Yep, on PBS’s Road Trip Nation! But before the show begins airing, you can catch a glimpse of it at Doc tonight, followed by a yummy reception. For five weeks, three current U of C seniors—Erica Cerulo, Diana Dravis, and Candace Elliott—traveled around the country in a green RV interviewing famous people who made unconventional career choices. That very RV will be on the quads today starting at 11 a.m. (4:15 p.m., Max Palevsky Cinema)
Tuesday, April 12
Robert J. Richards gives this year’s Ryerson Lecture, upliftingly entitled “The Narrative Structure of Moral Judgments in History: Evolution and Nazi Biology.” Last year’s was on happiness. (5:30 p.m., Max Palevsky Cinema)
As part of the Chicago Humanities Festival, novelist Jeannette Winterson reads from her latest endeavor Lighthousekeeping at the Northwestern University of Law’s Thorne Auditorium. For reservations, call 312-494-9509. (6 p.m., 375 East Chicago Avenue)
Who doesn’t want to be in a movie with WILL FERRELL?! Dude, here’s your chance. The Hideout is hosting a casting call for the latest Marc Forster film, Stranger Than Fiction. Will it be as good as Forster’s previous films, Monster’s Ball and Finding Neverland? Who cares? You need to bring a recent color photograph and a pen. Shooting for the film will commence April 25 and run through mid-July. Evidently, they’re especially keen on piercings and tattoos. In the middle of writing this, Jenn darted off quickly and came back with her eyebrow and nose pierced, as well as a tattoo of Jafar from Aladdin across her back. (5 to 8 p.m., 1354 West Wabansia Avenue)
Wednesday, April 13
Poem Presents Pierre Joris. A reception will follow. (5:30 p.m., Classics 10)
The PanAsia Festival brings you the documentary 62 Years and 6500 Miles Between, about a headstrong Democratic Grandma and the prices of progress. (5:30 p.m., BSLC 001)
Thursday, April 14
Charles Lipson does the whole What Matters to Me and Why thing. When are Libby and Jenn going to be asked?! (noon, Reynolds Club South Lounge)
Pianist Yasuko Oura and eighth blackbird cellist Nicholas Photinos present cello sonatas by Shostakovich and Barber for the Noontime Concert Series. In Cyrillic script, “Shostakovich” looks like “Woctakobnu.” (12:15 p.m., Fulton Recital Hall)
Sarah Vowell, contributor to NPR’s This American Life—and voice of Violet Parr in The Incredibles!—reads from her most recent book, Assassination Vacation, at Barbara’s Bookstore. (7:30 p.m., 1218 South Halsted Street)
Margaret Lebron directs a staged reading of Henrik Ibsen’s A Doll’s House. (8 p.m., Design Lab)
The classic sports documentary Hoop Dreams plays at Ratner, and executive producers and one of the stars will discuss the film after. (8 p.m., Ratner Center)
