FRI 12/10
Listening to Laurie McClain and Karen Mal sing makes all your lost hippie hopes of peace, love, and simple, good times come washing over you like warm bathwater. These two women live the dream, traveling from city to city playing folk music, harmonizing, and accompanying each other on harmonica and mandolin, winning folk music awards along the way, but the innate sweetness of their sound is far from cloying. Their songs explore issues that ache: Small towns morph into cities plagued by gang violence, a man kills himself by working too hard and running too fast, unrequited love is scorned. "I Wanna Be Like You" reveals the insecurity inside every woman, no matter how thin, or rich, or beautiful. Karen and Laurie's singing makes you feel like you know them, and you can't help but get where they're coming from. If you crave well-written, honest lyrics sung in clear voices that ring true, join Karen and Laurie for their CD release party tonight at the Main Street Café, 128 N. Krome Ave., Homestead. Call 305-245-7575 and visit www.karenmal.com and www.lauriemcclain.com. -- Patrice Elizabeth Grell Yursik
Hedberg Trip
FRI 12/10
"I don't have a girlfriend, but I do know a woman who'd be mad at me for saying that." Mitch Hedberg's girlfriend might be angry but it's lines like these that have his fans crying for more: "This shirt is dry clean only ... which means it's dirty." Having made numerous TV and several film appearances--including writing and acting in his Sundance offering Los Enchilada --since boldly walking into the MTV's offices to capture a slot on Comicaze back in 1996, Hedberg now seems poised to skyrocket beyond his stoner and slacker fanbase. He appears tonight at Revolution (200 W. Broward Blvd., Fort Lauderdale) at 8:00 in support of the topselling Mitch All Together--the new DVD and CD recordings of his Comedy Central special. Here's one more line just for the holidays: "A severed foot is the ultimate stocking stuffer." Please note that Stephen Lynch and Al Madrigal have bowed out, and tickets for the now-cancelled 11:00 p.m. show will be honored at the earlier all-ages show. General admission tickets cost $32.50. Call 305-358-5885 or visit www.ticketmaster.com. -- Margaret Griffis
Curiouser and Curiouser
Fall down the rabbithole at JCC
THU 12/9
A riddle: When is a children's book not a children's book? When it's Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, the wildest, wackiest head trip your little ones will take before you pack them off to college. From the hookah-toking, perma-smile sporting Cheshire Cat to the anxious, tweaked-out white rabbit to the tempestuous, petulant Queen of Hearts, few other works from Victorian literature have managed to wend their way so deeply into the psyche of modern culture. Alice's Adventures have become more than Lewis Carroll ever imagined. What began as an extemporized tale meant to entertain Alice Liddell, a little girl Carroll loved to photograph, became one of the most quoted, most beloved written works in the English language. Lewis Carroll's twisted imaginings have been remixed and sampled into artistic inspiration by Vladimir Nabokov, The Beatles, Jefferson Airplane, Gwen Stefani, Tom Waits, and Tom Petty, among many others. From all accounts, Lewis Carroll was an odd duck. He was a man with diverse interests, and wrote books about mathematics and logic. He had a keen interest in the then-emerging science of photography, but Carroll was happiest in the company of children, and found them to be his most engaging photographic subjects. He made puzzles and clever games, and wrote charming letters, all for young Alice. Now, his most famous amusement is here to please your kids. The Miami Children's Theatre's version of Alice in Wonderland amps up the childlike wonder while sanitizing the more hallucinatory aspects of Carroll's vision. Enter wonderland tonight at 7:00, at the Alper JCC, 11155 SW 112th Ave. Tickets range from $10 to $12. Call 305-233-2206 or visit www.miamichildrenstheater.com. -- Patrice Elizabeth Grell Yursik
From Moscow to Miami
SUN 12/12
Twentysomething Denis Burstein, with his crazy, curly hair and affection for bow ties, exudes a vibe more whippersnapper than virtuoso. But when he starts rocking out Rachmaninov, Scriabin, or his own compositions on the piano, you will give this young Russian the praise and respect he deserves. The Sunday Afternoons of Music concert starts at 4:00 p.m. at the Maurice Gusman Concert Hall, 1314 Miller Dr., Coral Gables. Tickets range from $10 to $35. Call 305-271-7150 or visit www.sundaymusicals.org. -- Lyssa Oberkreser
Personal Plays
FRI 12/10
Sex, chocolate, and theater are all cheaper than a trip to the shrink, but which one isn't going to leave you with a feeling of regret? The New School of the Arts One Festival, "Cheaper than Therapy," a menagerie of original one-person plays, written and performed by the BFA senior class, will satisfy your entertainment needs without the guilt and admission is free. Tonight at 8:00 at the Tower Theater, 1598 SW Eighth St. Call 305-237-3075 or visit www.mdc.edu/nwsa. -- Lyssa Oberkreser
