Soot, power-pop, and a whole lot of good film offerings.
We’re partnering with the wonderful independent email newsletter Madison Minutes to bring you event recommendations every week. As of this June, we’re dipping our toe back in with a few actual write-ups, some of which will appear in Madison Minutes‘ weekly event email, and all of which will appear here.
A few notes: This events roundup is, as before, selective and not comprehensive. Each week, we’ll focus on a handful of things our editors and writers find compelling, and that’s it.. We’ll write up a few of them, and just list a few more. It’ll take us a while to get back to full strength with this part of our coverage, because we’ve had so many other exciting, demanding things to work on lately. Please reach out to us with suggestions—and info about your event, as long as you’re able to get it to us a few weeks in advance—at [email protected].
JULY 5
Melvins, Helms Alee, Harsh Mellow at High Noon Saloon. Doors at 7 p.m., music at 8 p.m. $25 advance, $30 doors.
JULY 6
Saint Jack at UW Cinematheque. Doors at 6:30 p.m., screening at 7 p.m. Free.
An excerpt from Edwanike Harbour’s review: “Even when Jack Flowers finds himself in a situation where he can make money catching a well-known john in the act, he struggles with the decision, railing against the hypocrisy of Singaporean society. People who outwardly condemn such behavior are some of his best customers. To illustrate such hypocrisy, the film was actually banned in Singapore even though Bogdanovich did a great job depicting the grim realities of the sex trade, offering a masterclass in direction at the same time. (Saint Jack is shot entirely on location in Singapore—the only Hollywood film to claim that—and includes great establishing shots of the urban environments.) Long takes and general use of shots add depth beyond exposition. Several scenes show restraint, in which Flowers could react violently to those trying to intimidate him, but instead they are tempered by piercing looks—just as much of a gripping scold as any over-the-top violence.”
JULY 7
Les Seins De Glace (Someone Is Bleeding) at UW Cinematheque. Doors at 6:30 p.m., screening at 7 p.m. Free.
An excerpt from Lewis Peterson’s feature on Alain Delon: “…A counterpoint to La Piscine‘s summer vibes [is] George Lautner’s Les Seins De Glace (literally translated as Icy Breasts, and sometimes sharing the slightly less awkward title as its source material, Someone Is Bleeding), which opens on TV drama writer François (Claude Brasseur) sitting frustrated at a typewriter in the off-season seaside town of Nice. François happens upon a Hitchcock blonde in full furs (Mireille Darc, who was in a relationship with Delon at the time of filming) walking along the beach. He immediately goes after her, letting her know she’s the protagonist he’s been looking for, seemingly unaware that his sex-romp narrative tactics are leading him straight into a gothic mystery.”
JULY 8
The Cult Of Lip, Vombom, Soot at Mickey’s Tavern. 10 p.m. Free.
Soot—a punishingly heavy dark punk duo that earned praise for their recorded output throughout the pandemic—will be making a rare live appearance and performing as a trio at this show. Rounding out the lineup for the night will be Vombom, whose 100% Volatile record from earlier this year boasted a harsh, grimier punk sound that’ll be a natural fit for this bill. The show will also be a Women’s Medical Fund benefit, making this a vital proposition for any prospective showgoer. Tyler Fassnacht‘s Baby Tyler project was initially slated to play this show, but had to drop off the bill. The Cult Of Lip has been added to play in his stead. —Steven Spoerl
What We Left Unfinished at UW Cinematheque. Doors at 6:30 p.m., screening at 7 p.m. Free.
An excerpt from Maxwell Courtright’s review: “What We Left Unfinished is more relevant than ever for American audiences during our not-unrelated discussions of how the American military industrial complex currently props up Hollywood, especially given that the most recent critical and box office smash is a litmus test for how much propaganda you can swallow in the name of cool stunts. With the current orthodoxy of studio filmmaking sucking up and spitting out the hottest new auteurs, it’s more imperative than ever that we look critically at where films come from and how even the notion of someone like Marvel working with ‘true artists’ is a tactic to disguise the reproducing machinery. Ghani’s is a film that poses tough questions about the complex relationship between propaganda and true art, where the latter can become the former with only slight changes in context. American audiences would be good to keep it in mind the next time they’re at the multiplex.”
Kyle Rightley at Communication. Doors at 7 p.m., music at 7:30 p.m.
JULY 9
Bent Antenna, BingBong at Dark Horse ArtBar. 9 p.m.
Bent Antenna and BingBong are both Madison bands who know what makes a guitar-driven pop song tick, and they both know how to work in a little humor alongside their genuine, world-weary angst. BingBong’s new single, “Make It Right,” contrasts singer/guitarist Pam Barrett’s wistful lyrics with bright, almost breezy guitar figures from Danny Hicks and the sharp rhythmic drive of drummer Brian Bentley and bassist Julie Kiland. Which is kind of this band’s sweet spot. Bent Antenna, playing its first show of 2022 here, boasts the raucous songwriting of co-founders Christian Grooms and Matt Earley, and the punch of Madison music veterans Lisa Marine (The Quickies, The Tiny Band) on bass and Dan Hobson (Killdozer) on drums. —Scott Gordon
Tom Gullion Quartet at Café Coda. 7 and 9 p.m. $15 advance, $20 doors.
JULY 10
Marie Antoinette at Memorial Union Terrace. Screening after dusk, 9 p.m. Free.
An excerpt from Alisyn Amant’s review: “While Jason Schwartzman gets to play the aloof, humorously awkward prince, Kirsten Dunst miraculously captures the insecurities of girlhood with a range of expressions, depicting timidity, wry wit, and the nuanced immaturity that comes with having everything and nothing at the same time. She plays a scared teenager, a reckless twentysomething, an exhausted wife and mother, and an exiled queen in a matter of two hours, but still manages to relay a true humanity. Of course, history repeats and mimics itself in war or fashion or the complex emotional states of young girls, and therein lies the paradoxically casual and ornate artistry of Marie Antoinette. It is comically ludicrous and relatably devastating, all at once.”
