thursday11
Thursday11
Shapers
Friday12
Kenny BarronBattlefield BandThe Marriage of FigaroPretty Good Dance MoviesVoivod
ClaychellaHarvey MilkJoe HenryTed Leo + PharmacistsPretty Good Dance Moves
Sunday14
Diamond Rings
Monday15
John DoeThe Marriage of FigaroReal Estate
Tuesday16
ROVA Saxophone Quartet
Tuesday17
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BATTLEFIELD BAND The Battlefield Band’s motto is “Forward With Scotland’s Past,” and their latest CD, Zama Zama: Try Your Luck (Temple), exemplifies it as well as anything they’ve done. On the new album this Glasgow-based quartet uses instruments both traditional (fiddle, bagpipes, bouzouki, whistle, accordion) and modern (electric bass, electric guitar, Hammond organ) in songs that address greed and its consequences through the ages—topics range from Gaelic legends about a “Cave of Gold” to whaling in Scottish waters to the current global financial crisis. The music is deeply rooted but contemporary: even when it evokes Celtic tradition most pristinely, it surges with a rocklike energy, and vocalists Alan Reid and Sean O’Donnell sing with the sneering defiance of troubador punks. The material includes original songs, vintage Celtic ballads, a reworked Nina Simone number (“Plain Gold Ring”), and a venerable bagpipe tune set to the chords of Hendrix’s “Purple Haze” (the closing track, “The Pretty Apron,” incorporates “The Flirting Brown Maid”). As usual in folk music, the tales are cautionary: venal gold diggers may get their comeuppance, but evil itself remains, and it’s up to us to be vigilant. Liz Carroll opens. 7 and 10 PM, Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln, 773-728-6000, $22, $20, $18 seniors and children. —David Whiteis
THE MARRIAGE OF FIGARO Lyric Opera concludes its season with Mozart’s 1786 masterpiece Le Nozze di Figaro. Its story of love, jealousy, trust, and forgiveness is touching yet hilarious, and in the performance I saw its glorious score was executed by a superb cast and orchestra that brought to life every comic twist and turn of Susanna and Figaro’s wedding day. As the maid Susanna, gifted soprano Daniella de Niese—impressive in 2007’s Giulio Cesare—was effervescently charismatic, and particularly expressive in the final act’s “Deh! Vieni, Non Tardar.” Bass-baritone Kyle Ketelsen as the valet Figaro was her perfect match, delivering a firmly resounding “Se Vuol Ballare.” Baritone Mariusz Kwiecien was boldly commanding in demeanor and sound as the philandering Count Almaviva; soprano Anne Schwanewilms (sublime in 2006’s Der Rosenkavalier), though regal as the Countess, sounded thin and at times was nearly inaudible. (She’s since withdrawn due to a bronchial infection and will be replaced by Amanda Majeski tonight and Nicole Cabell thereafter.) After a shaky start, mezzo-soprano Joyce DiDonato played Cherubino—the hormonally overcharged youth—with conviction, delivering a beautifully lyrical “Voi Che Sapete.” Figaro was last performed at Lyric in 2003, so I wouldn’t count on this coming back anytime soon. This production runs through 3/27; Sir Andrew Davis conducts 3/12, 3/18, and 3/20, and Leonardo Vordoni conducts 3/15 and 3/22-3/27. See also Monday. 2 PM, Civic Opera House, 20 N. Wacker, 312-332-2244, $33-$194. —Barbara Yaross
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PRETTY GOOD DANCE MOVES See Friday. The Bon Mots open. 1 PM, Schubas, 3159 N. Southport, 773-525-2508, $14, $12 in advance, kids under two free.
