JANUARY 21 – WEDNESDAY
A one-man jam-band of sorts, Keller Williams is a solo guitarist known for his blazing fret work and irreverent songs. He’s touring behind his eighth studio recording, Home, which for the first time features Williams playing all the instruments. With song titles like “Love Handles” and “Butt Ass Nipple” the Fredricksburg, VA, native may not impress with the depth of his songwriting — but his 10-string guitar playing may make up for it. Williams sounds like a cross between two of his most obvious influences, Leo Kotke and Michael Hedges, and takes that sound into new arenas, reggae and bluegrass for starters, which adds welcome variety. He’s also adept at impersonating a muted trumpet, among other vocal oddities, supplementing his whole one-man-band reputation. He’s at Neighborhood Theatre at 8pm; tickets are $19. For more information, call 704-358-9298. (Schacht)
Slideshows often connote dread, be it Aunt Selma’s trip to the Grand Canyon or Grandma’s Elderhostel retreat. Andy Friedman’s performance tonight at the Evening Muse creates a whole new dimension to slideshows that is — well — actually pretty damn cool. Known as the Slideshow Poet, Friedman combines projections of pencil drawings and Polaroid photographs with an onstage vocalization of his writing that breaks the mold for visual artists. The show starts at 8pm and tickets are $5. The Muse is located at 3227 North Davidson St. Call 704-376-3737 for details. (Grossman)
JANUARY 22 – THURSDAY
Long before the ruthlessness of Survivor captured the public’s fancy, David Mamet mined the repulsion — and fascination — of contestants striving desperately for survival in Glengarry Glen Ross. Mamet’s rogues, however, aren’t volunteers on an exotic game show. They’re among the scummiest real estate salesmen you’ll ever see, caught up in a contest that will cost one of them his job, spewing profanities to match the obscenity of their cannibalistic battle. Shall we, their usual prey, enjoy their demise? Yup. Michael Simmons, Tony Wright, and Hugh Loomis are among Mamet’s predators at Central Avenue Playhouse through February 7. Call 704-461-4155. (Tannenbaum)
JANUARY 23 – FRIDAY
Last May the members of Jason Scavone & the Noises 10 (Jason and Jonathan Erickson, Gray Brewster, and John Licare) put together an experimental showcase where a wide variety of local and regional bands could play together. The goal was to cross-pollinate the bands’, and the fans’, tastes. The first event, at the Visulite Theatre, captured the imagination of club-owner Bernie Brown, and the 6-Point Showcase has had a home there ever since. Tonight’s showcase is a benefit for the family of Huntersville’s Derek Ellis, who died in December and left behind a widow and two children. Tickets for this benefit are $8, doors open at 9pm and the musical mix gets underway at 10pm. For more information on a worthy cause, call 704-358-9200. (Schacht)
Picture a kindly dad at bedtime, tucking his son under the covers and reading the ancient tale of . . . Oedipus Rex!? The gore! The perversion! Surely this is an idea spawned by a sketch writer for Saturday Night Live. Strange as it sounds, Children’s Theatre of Charlotte is bringing Sophocles’ famed tragedy to their Morehead Street fantasy palace. And no, they’re not recommending the production for kids under 12. Figures to be a fine — and relevant — production with Alan Poindexter directing and Mark Sutton, Barbi Van Schaick, Cody Harding, and Vito Abate among the all-adult cast. Through January 31. Call 704-333-8983. (Tannenbaum)
JANUARY 24 – SATURDAY
Ralph Stanley has followed a lifelong passion for music, told it through the road-weary tales of a folksinger/country crooner, sung of personal missteps through gospel, and contributed mightily to the robust history of the all-American music called bluegrass. Ralph Stanley & the Clinch Mountain Boys are bringing their musical story to town, fronted with Stanley’s gentle playing and singing. Stanley is one of the last remaining troubadours of the old school still able to bring down the house. At Neighborhood Theatre. Show starts at 6pm. Tickets are $25. Visit www.neighborhoodtheatre.com or call 704-358-9298 for further information. (Shukla)
JANUARY 25 – SUNDAY
Ailey II, the little brother of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, is celebrating its 30th birthday this year, but with an ongoing mission of showcasing the most promising students of the Ailey School, the company’s youth and vitality are undimmed. The classically trained 12-person troupe roars into the wondrously inviting Duke Family Performance Hall, gracing Davidson College’s Artist Series with a program culled from II’s repertoire of innovative works by Donald Byrd, Lar Lubovich, Ulysses Dove, and Judith Jamison, the company’s artistic director. They take their culture enthusiastically up in Davidson, so hurry and call 704-894-2135 for tickets. (Tannenbaum)
This article appears in Jan 21-27, 2004.
