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Tuesday, October 09, 2007
JAZZ
The jammier side of jazz comes out when local heroes CLUB D’ELF share a double bill with NYC’s RUDDER (see “Off the Record,” page TK). For this incarnation, the tranced-out Moroccan funked d’Elf (who are preparing for a gig at the prestigious World of Arab Music festival in Montreal later this month) will include guitarist Dave Tronzo, saxist Tom Hall, turntablist Mister Rourke, and drummer Dean Johnston | Regattabar, Charles Hotel, 1 Bennett St, Cambridge | 617.395.7757.
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Wednesday, October 10, 2007
ELECTRO
German duo DIGITALISM claim to “have the biggest party ever” on their new full-length debut, Idealism (Astralwerks). We’re not sure about all that, but with the help of local instigators BIG DIGIT and E-MARCÉ, they probably have the biggest party in town tonight downstairs at the Middle East, 480 Mass Ave, Cambridge | 617.864.EAST.
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JAZZ
DEE DEE BRIDGEWATER, the reigning queen of jazz divas, has stepped out of her usual repertoire for Red Earth: A Malian Journey (Emarcy), and she’s touring with an impressive group of African musicians from that album: Minino Garay, drums and percussion; Baba Sissoko, lute-like n’goni; Mamadou Cherif Soumano, 21-string kora harp; Lansiné Kouyaté, balafon marimba; Adama Diarra, djembé hand drum; vocalists Assitan Kéita and Kabiné Kouyaté; Bridgewater’s regular bassist, Ira Coleman, and pianist, Edsel Gomez | Cutler Majestic Theatre, 219 Tremont St, Boston | 8 pm | $30-$78 | 617.824.8000.
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READING
New Yorker staffer and CNN legal analyst JEFFREY TOOBIN comes to town in support of his new The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court. He’s joined in conversation by author, Harvard Law professor, and attorney extraordinaire ALAN DERSHOWITZ — O.J. Simpson, Mike Tyson, et al. — at the Brattle Theatre, 40 Brattle St, Cambridge | 6 pm | $5 | 617.661.1515 or www.harvard.com.
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JAZZ
Across town, the superb, Mingus-inspired sax-trombone-bass-drums quartet GYPSY SCHAEFFER hold forth at UpStairs on the Square in Harvard Square, starting at 9 | 91 Winthrop St, Cambridge | 617.864.1933.

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CLASSICAL
Here’s a season opener with a difference: Bach’s Der Kunst der Fuge (“The Art of the Fugue”), with 14 different pianists playing one fugue each. Only EMMANUEL MUSIC could come up with this one. And the performers are high-voltage: Leslie Amper, Michael Beattie, Bruce Brubaker, Katherine Chi, Ya-Fei Chuang, Judith Gordon, John Harbison, Randall Hodgkinson, Robert Levin, Robert Merfeld, Sally Pinkas, Sergey Schepkin, Craig Smith, and Yehudi Wyner. This gala benefit is at Emmanuel Church, 15 Newbury St, Boston | 7:30 pm | $200 [concert and reception]; $10-$25 [concert] | 617.536.3356.
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Thursday, October 11, 2007
JAZZ
“Tapping” jazz guitarist STANLEY JORDAN hits Scullers with bassist Charnett Moffett and drummer David Haynes. Back in the ’80s, Jordan’s hammer-on technique was unique in jazz, and his fluent execution of multiple melody lines is still something to see — and hear | DoubleTree Guest Suites Hotel, 400 Soldiers Field Road, Boston | 617.562.4111.
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RABBI JACKIE?
If JACKIE MASON had remained a rabbi, his temple would have been standing-room-only. But at 28, the author of Shmucks! Our Favorite Fakes, Frauds, Lowlifes, Liars, the Armed and Dangerous, and Good Guys Gone Bad left the family business for life upon the wicked stage. Tonight the comic and political commentator pronounces upon “the world according to me” at North Shore Music Theatre, 62 Dunham Road, Beverly | 8 pm | $42-$52 | 978.232.7200 or www.nsmt.org.
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FILM
Austrian Michael Haneke and sado-masochistic cinema have become all the rage of late, and the Museum of Fine Arts and the Harvard Film Archive acknowledge the trend with the comprehensive shared retrospective “MICHAEL HANEKE: A CINEMA OF PROVOCATION.” It begins today at the MFA with the seldom seen Variation (1983; 5:45 pm), which sounds like a hepped-up Scenes from a Marriage with Fassbinder overtones. It’s followed by Haneke’s most recent and successful work, Caché|Hidden (2005; 7:45 pm). That’s in the MFA’s Remis Auditorium, 465 Huntington Ave, Boston | 617.369.3300.
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Sunday, October 14, 2007
LET THE BRIGHT KIRI
It’s being billed as the “Farewell Tour,” and if you had a nickel for every one of those you’ve shelled out for that wasn’t . . . But this one’s for DAME KIRI TE KANAWA — has it really been 26 years since she sang “Let the Bright Seraphim” for Charles and Di? She turned 63 last March, so this actually could be the end, and you don’t want to miss her even if it isn’t. She’ll be singing works by Mozart, Richard Strauss, Duparc, Poulenc, Britten, Copland, and Puccini (we wouldn’t be surprised to hear “O mio babbino caro” among the encores) at Symphony Hall, 301 Mass, Boston | October 14 at 5 pm | $40-$85 | 617.482.6661 or www.celebrityseries.org.
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ITCHING FOR HIVES
We’ve been marveling these past few weeks that our old favorite band, the HIVES, have managed to weather their sales dip (unwarranted, as Tyrannosaurus Hives was bleeping brilliant) without missing a beat. Having fully embraced their commercial instincts, they made lemonade out of that Timbaland-collabo lemon by selling it to the WWE. Then they snuck a sneak peek of their new single into a Nike commercial. Now comes word that they’ll headline the Middle East downstairs on October 14 (huge sigh of relief: this means we won’t have to shell out to see them play the Garden the following night), with tickets going on sale this Friday, August 17. And they’ve just announced the title of T. Hives’s follow-up — The Black and White Album, a name that trumps Metallica, the Beatles, and Jay-Z in one fell swoop — as well as its release date (October 9). Someone save us a seat at the side of the stage | Middle East downstairs, 480 Mass Ave, Cambridge | October 14 | $12 | 617.864.EAST.
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Thursday, November 01, 2007

ROCK
No, this isn't a real show. But imagine if it was.

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Saturday, November 03, 2007
LONG STORY SHORT
Your mom’s favorite “literary” folk-pop Oregonians, the DECEMBERISTS, have just announced a big fall tour they’re calling “The Long and Short of It,” on which they’ll play at least two nights in each city — including a pair of shows at the Orpheum Theatre, November 3 and 4. According to a press release, “ ‘Long’ evenings will focus on the band’s epic, progressive compositions”; “ ‘Short’ nights (while no shorter in set length, we promise) will highlight their more succinct, pop-leaning material.” They’ll be supporting a new EP, The Perfect Crime #2 (Capitol, September 25), that features remixes by the likes of Diplo and Junior Boys | Orpheum Theatre, 1 Hamilton Place, Boston | November 3-4 | $29.50 | on sale Saturday at 10 am | 617.931.2000 or www.ticketmaster.com.
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Monday, November 12, 2007
STAIR CASES
Indie devotees: mark your calendars now — November 12 will be a big night at the Middle East. Fans of classically informed, pop-minded looped-violin-and-vocals music likely already had tickets to the FINAL FANTASY show upstairs. But now the club has announced that CLAP YOUR HANDS SAY YEAH will play the downstairs room the same night (tickets on sale Friday at 10 am). Sure, CYHSY’s cool cachet has been on the wane, but not enough so that this show isn’t a sure sellout, especially since it’s at a much smaller venue than they’ve played since Pitchfork decided they were the best thing since Neutral Milk Hotel or something, two-plus years ago. Get your stair-climbing shoes ready | Final Fantasy upstairs at the Middle East, 472 Mass Ave, Cambridge | November 12 | $9 | On sale now | Clap Your Hands Say Yeah downstairs at the Middle East, 480 Mass Ave, Cambridge | November 12 | $15 | On sale Friday at 10 am | 617.931.2000 or www.ticketmaster.com.
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Sunday, November 18, 2007
ON THE ROAD AGAIN
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN has spent the past few years doing the solo acoustic thing and playing old American folk music with his Seeger Sessions Band. But in October, the Boss is gathering the old gang — Steven Van Zandt, Max Weinberg, Clarence Clemons, Patti Scialfa, Nils Lofgren, Garry Tallent, Roy Bittan, and Danny Federici — for the first E STREET BAND tour in five years, and one that coincides with the release of Magic (Columbia), his first studio album with the band since 2002’s The Rising. We’ve been listening to “Radio Nowhere,” Magic’s lead single, and though it’s no “Radio Free Europe,” at least Springsteen’s shouted pleas — “I just want to hear some rhythm/I want a thousand guitars/I want pounding drums” — spell loud things for the album and the tour, which rolls into town for two nights in November. The shows are surefire sellouts, so don’t sleep on tickets | TD Banknorth Garden, 100 Legends Way, Boston | November 18-19 | $67.50 + $97.50 | on sale Monday at 10 am | 617.931.2000 or www.ticketmaster.com.
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Monday, November 19, 2007
DÉJÀ ENTENDU?
Well, this doesn’t happen every day: same major piece of music (Gustav Mahler’s DAS LIED VON DER ERDE), same major vocalists (tenor BEN HEPPNER and bass-baritone THOMAS QUASTHOFF), different but every bit as major conductor and ensemble (SIMON RATTLE and the BERLIN PHILHARMONIC ORCHESTRA). Back in 1998, Ben and Tom did it with Seiji Ozawa and the BSO, and people are still talking about that one, especially Quasthoff’s contribution. This time out, they’ll be talking about the ticket prices — but, hey, you’re listening to one of the greatest musical works of the 20th century performed by one of the world’s best (some would say the best) symphony orchestras, one of the world’s half-dozen greatest conductors, and certainly two of the world’s greatest vocalists. Non-subscription tickets go on sale September 10, so mark your calendar now for Symphony Hall, 301 Mass, Boston | November 19 at 8 pm | $47-$187 | 617.482.6661 or www.celebrityseries.org
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