Remember when bands cared about albums as an art form? Instead of
slapping together a dozen tracks because, hey, they'll just end up on
everyone's iPod shuffle anyway, musicians considered how their songs
might congeal as a whole or form some sort of dram
Being the smallest guys in the room, Do It Yourself theatre companies don’t get a whole lot of money from those traditional sources that their bigger commercial cousins do. Quite often the budget is limited (or, strictly speaking, nonexistent) on such shows. People volunteer their time. Personal wallets and bank accounts are tapped. Some people are driven to drink. Others are driven to stop drinking and become vegetarians. Really edgy stuff is performed for tiny audences in small performance spaces. Meanwhile someone in the theatre district is paying a figure in the high double-digits to see a touring, prefabricated show that will leave town in a few days. In the interest of making some money in advance, two local DIY companies are welcoming the public in the interest of filling the coffers for upcoming productions.

On March 15th, Insurgent Theatre will host it's Ides of March Dance-Off at Darling Hall. The quaint little spot off West National (601 S 6th Street, to be precise) will be home to a dance competition that may prove to be every bit as idiosyncratic as one might expect from the Insurgents. There will be prizes. There will be DJ’s. Curious onlookers are encouraged to pay $5 (or more) to see the event. Those interested in competing are encouraged to contact Insurgent Theatre’s Tim Chrapko at: insurgent.tim@gmail.com
For more information, visit: www.insurgenttheatre.com

And starting at 3pm on April 4th, Pink Banana Theatre is hosting a classy hipster Prom Night at the Alchemist Theatre on south Kinnickinnic. Admission is a $25 donation to Pink Banana. The prom theme is scheduled to include “spiked punch,” and appetizers. There’s a raffle for a dinner at the Broadway Theatre Center and the inevitable announcement of Prom King and Queen. (Weird.) For more information, visit: www.pinkbananatheatre.com

Elvis Costello's frequent collaborator T-Bone Burnett produced Secret, Profane & Sugarcane,
an Americana-inflected album working with country and folk traditions
for images of sawdust floors set to mandolin and fiddle. Costello
intended one s
You wouldn’t expect to find T-bone and sirloin dinners at a place with stool seating and a location next to a shop hawking cell phones and cigarettes. But one of the city’s most evocatively named eateries, ZaZa Steak & Lemonade (4919 W. Capito
The enduring fantasy of older men is that a gorgeous
young woman will fall in love with them, find them sexually arousing
and long to imbibe their wisdom while sitting at their feet. That
fantasy is the spring driving Woody Allen's often-hilarious f
Away We Go, a droll comedy-cum-drama by director Sam Mendes (American Beauty),
perceptively explores the lives of more-or-less ordinary 30-somethings
lost in a world without much meaning. Verona (Maya Rudolph) and Bu


